In 1969 the Government of Canada announced a new Indian policy statement(1) which is an attempt to solve what has been called the "Indian Problem". One interpretation of the Indian Problem is presented in this statement(2). The Indians have struggled against control and oppression which they may term as a "Bureaucratic Problem" or an "Indian Act Problem". Whichever view is taken, Indian or otherwise, the problem is the same.<p> Until recently, the general public was unaware of the Indians and of the problems they encountered by policy changes. The policies were often implemented for the sake of expediency, without sufficient reference to what had happened in the past and without sound consultations with the Indian people. The policy controlling the education of Indians has been, and is, held by federal authorities to be the key which will solve past issues, but educational problems have arisen due to unenlightened practices impressed upon the culture of the Indian people. It is necessary, therefore, to examine the significant patterns and the resulting difficulties which have evolved in the education of Indians. <p>(1) Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969. Presented to the First Session of the Twenty-eighth Parliament by the Honourable Jean Chretian, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1969.<p> (2) See Appendix A.<p> Statement of the Problem<p> The purpose of this historical study is to examine the development and effect of educational policies that established, supported, and closed Industrial Schools for Indians and, in particular, the Battleford Industrial School which existed in the North-West Territories from 1883 to 1905 and continued in the Province of Saskatchewan to 1914.

In 1969 the Government of Canada announced a new Indian policy statement(1) which is an attempt to solve what has been called the "Indian Problem". One interpretation of the Indian Problem is presented in this statement(2). The Indians have struggled against control and oppression which they may term as a "Bureaucratic Problem" or an "Indian Act Problem". Whichever view is taken, Indian or otherwise, the problem is the same.<p> Until recently, the general public was unaware of the Indians and of the problems they encountered by policy changes. The policies were often implemented for the sake of expediency, without sufficient reference to what had happened in the past and without sound consultations with the Indian people. The policy controlling the education of Indians has been, and is, held by federal authorities to be the key which will solve past issues, but educational problems have arisen due to unenlightened practices impressed upon the culture of the Indian people. It is necessary, therefore, to examine the significant patterns and the resulting difficulties which have evolved in the education of Indians. <p>(1) Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969. Presented to the First Session of the Twenty-eighth Parliament by the Honourable Jean Chretian, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1969.<p> (2) See Appendix A.<p> Statement of the Problem<p> The purpose of this historical study is to examine the development and effect of educational policies that established, supported, and closed Industrial Schools for Indians and, in particular, the Battleford Industrial School which existed in the North-West Territories from 1883 to 1905 and continued in the Province of Saskatchewan to 1914.