Through a theoretical and practical examination of how space is socially constructed and perceived, this
study hypothesizes that the monolithically negative portrayal in the media and academic literature of the
Indian residential school experience does not adequately reflect the full range of the experiences of all
children at such institutions. A typology of spaces is constructed which establishes that concepts of gender,
race and age impact the ways that institutions and institutional spaces are organized and perceived. This
typology is applied to the Coqualeetza Residential School and the Coqualeetza Indian Tuberculosis
Hospital in Sardis, BC for the period 1935 - 1950. Interviews were conducted with former Coqualeetza
residents. Their comments, along with extant accounts of residential school experiences were examined
within the context of this typology. The results reveal that, at Coqualeezta and at other residential schools,
social constructions and personal perceptions of spaces affect and reflect peoples' experiences in profound
ways. Examining such perceptions has revealed that residents' experiences and memories are
heterogeneous, diverse and very personal.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8373 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Woods, Jody |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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