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A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System
With the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, more Canadians than ever are aware of the ugly history of Canada s residential schools. Nearly twenty years before, UMP published John S. Milloy s A National Crime, a groundbreaking history of the schools that exposed details of the system to thousands of readers. This reissue includes a new foreword by a scholar in the vanguard of Indigenous historians in Canada, Mary Jane Logan McCallum, of the Munsee Delaware Nation.
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464 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 7, 2023
John Milloy's "A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System, 1879 to 1986" is as the title suggests a lurid, polemic and misleading work which nonetheless is probably right on most of the points that it raises. It is not nearly as good as J.R. Miller's more balanced "Shingwauk's Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools" but complements it very well as its focus is much different. "Shingwauk's Vision" is about the schools, the students and the teachers. Milloy's "A National Crime" is about how the Department of Indian Affairs created the Residential School network for the wrong reasons, proceeded to mismanage it and then took too long to dismantle it
Milloy's title comes an article that appeared in "Saturday Night" magazine in November 1922 by Dr. P.H. Bryce, a former "Medical Inspector of the Department of Indian Affairs" who blamed the high death rate from tuberculosis in the schools on the poor condition of the buildings, inadequate diet provided for the residents and lack of proper sanitation. The problem with Milloy's book and Bryce's articles is that neither provide any statistics to show that the death rate from tuberculosis was higher in the schools than on the reserves. However, one's instincts tell one that Bryce probably was right. Un pasteurized milk was a major path through which tuberculosis spread. Natives did not keep cows at that time and so the residents only began drinking milk when they entered the schools. Bryce could well have been right to suggest that the next step was for the residents to take the bacteria with them when they returned to the reserves in the summer. However reasonable this scenario is, it is still just speculation of which there is too much in Milloy's book.
Milloy argues that the underlying problems with the schools was underfunding. He points out that the per capita subsidy paid to schools was roughly 40% less than the per capital subsidy paid to orphanages for white children and reform schools. The buildings were in terrible shape. The food was horrible and the clothing was disgraceful because there simply was not enough money being put into the system. On this point, no one disagrees with Milloy.
Where I tend to agree with Miller ("Shingwauk's Vision") and disagree with Milloy is where Milloy suggests that the students learned next to nothing while at the schools. Miller argues that the students generally learned how to speak, read and write English. In addition they learned basic arithmetic. As a result the Residential Schools produced the first generation of literate band leaders. The resident school graduates that I have met all knew their 3 Rs very well. Milloy in my opinion clearly exaggerates the deficiencies in the teaching.
Milloy is probably right however when he asserts that the vast majority of Residential School teachers were unqualified in that they had not attended "normal school" which was a one year program taken after high school graduation to qualify as a teacher. Milloy is also right to point out that because of the lack of funds, the schools would not have been able to hire teachers with the "normal school" certificate.
The second reason for the academic deficiencies in the schools was that the residents spent only half their days in class. They spend the other half of the day working in agricultural tasks and as they were responsible for growing their own food. On this point as well, everyone who has written on the schools agrees with Milloy.
The problem with "A National Crime" is that it is organized around the correspondence exchanged between the directors of the schools and the officials of the Department of Indian Affairs. The school directors seem to be been constantly pleading for more funds to repair their decrepit buildings, to procure better food and to buy proper clothing. In addition there were many letters exchanged over crises such as the tuberculosis epidemic of the early 20th century. Milloy's book then dwells on complaints and makes no attempt to assess how pervasive the problems were and ignores any of the successes of the school.
Milloy constantly criticizes the bureaucrats of the Department of Indian Affairs for doing nothing when they knew that serious problems existed in the schools. What Milloy ignores is that there was nothing for them to do. The Indians lived on reserves that were too far from the towns where the white schools were located. In an age with neither motor vehicles nor paved roads sending the reserve children to the white schools was simply not an option. By 1948 however the road system had expanded to a point where most reserves were within easy busing distance from white schools. Thus the Department of Indian Affairs decided that it would adopt a policy of "integration; that is to say, the Residential Schools would be closed and the reserve children would be bussed to white schools.
The last residential school however would be closed until 1996. One reason was that there was still a large population of Indian children that were still living in remote locations were daily commuting was not an option. Milloy, however, does an excellent job of arguing that another major reason for the prolonged schools was resistance from the churches that operated them as well as concerns by some bands that their children would not be well received in white schools.
"A National Crime" is a very informative but highly frustrating book. Milloy is probably right on most issues but is logic is often very faulty and he ignores many pertinent issues.
Milloy's title comes an article that appeared in "Saturday Night" magazine in November 1922 by Dr. P.H. Bryce, a former "Medical Inspector of the Department of Indian Affairs" who blamed the high death rate from tuberculosis in the schools on the poor condition of the buildings, inadequate diet provided for the residents and lack of proper sanitation. The problem with Milloy's book and Bryce's articles is that neither provide any statistics to show that the death rate from tuberculosis was higher in the schools than on the reserves. However, one's instincts tell one that Bryce probably was right. Un pasteurized milk was a major path through which tuberculosis spread. Natives did not keep cows at that time and so the residents only began drinking milk when they entered the schools. Bryce could well have been right to suggest that the next step was for the residents to take the bacteria with them when they returned to the reserves in the summer. However reasonable this scenario is, it is still just speculation of which there is too much in Milloy's book.
Milloy argues that the underlying problems with the schools was underfunding. He points out that the per capita subsidy paid to schools was roughly 40% less than the per capital subsidy paid to orphanages for white children and reform schools. The buildings were in terrible shape. The food was horrible and the clothing was disgraceful because there simply was not enough money being put into the system. On this point, no one disagrees with Milloy.
Where I tend to agree with Miller ("Shingwauk's Vision") and disagree with Milloy is where Milloy suggests that the students learned next to nothing while at the schools. Miller argues that the students generally learned how to speak, read and write English. In addition they learned basic arithmetic. As a result the Residential Schools produced the first generation of literate band leaders. The resident school graduates that I have met all knew their 3 Rs very well. Milloy in my opinion clearly exaggerates the deficiencies in the teaching.
Milloy is probably right however when he asserts that the vast majority of Residential School teachers were unqualified in that they had not attended "normal school" which was a one year program taken after high school graduation to qualify as a teacher. Milloy is also right to point out that because of the lack of funds, the schools would not have been able to hire teachers with the "normal school" certificate.
The second reason for the academic deficiencies in the schools was that the residents spent only half their days in class. They spend the other half of the day working in agricultural tasks and as they were responsible for growing their own food. On this point as well, everyone who has written on the schools agrees with Milloy.
The problem with "A National Crime" is that it is organized around the correspondence exchanged between the directors of the schools and the officials of the Department of Indian Affairs. The school directors seem to be been constantly pleading for more funds to repair their decrepit buildings, to procure better food and to buy proper clothing. In addition there were many letters exchanged over crises such as the tuberculosis epidemic of the early 20th century. Milloy's book then dwells on complaints and makes no attempt to assess how pervasive the problems were and ignores any of the successes of the school.
Milloy constantly criticizes the bureaucrats of the Department of Indian Affairs for doing nothing when they knew that serious problems existed in the schools. What Milloy ignores is that there was nothing for them to do. The Indians lived on reserves that were too far from the towns where the white schools were located. In an age with neither motor vehicles nor paved roads sending the reserve children to the white schools was simply not an option. By 1948 however the road system had expanded to a point where most reserves were within easy busing distance from white schools. Thus the Department of Indian Affairs decided that it would adopt a policy of "integration; that is to say, the Residential Schools would be closed and the reserve children would be bussed to white schools.
The last residential school however would be closed until 1996. One reason was that there was still a large population of Indian children that were still living in remote locations were daily commuting was not an option. Milloy, however, does an excellent job of arguing that another major reason for the prolonged schools was resistance from the churches that operated them as well as concerns by some bands that their children would not be well received in white schools.
"A National Crime" is a very informative but highly frustrating book. Milloy is probably right on most issues but is logic is often very faulty and he ignores many pertinent issues.
August 16, 2012
Extremely comprehensive thanks to the access to archival documents given the author and his team. This book should be mandatory high school reading - though it's not an easy read by any means. There is a lot of repetition, the result of the book's structure and commitment to thoroughness. Well worth the effort; a history we should all be familiar with, remember, and take action to eliminate in ourselves - the dominant culture - the arrogance that allowed residential schools, and their continued horrible impact, to happen.
January 22, 2022
An absolute must-read for all settlers living on occupied Turtle Island. A full, extensive history of the indian residential “school” system from it’s inception to it’s slow, gradual decline over the last four decades of the 20th century. Heartbreaking, tragic & a testament to the absolute necessity for Indigenous sovereignty & self-determination.
June 9, 2012
A fantastic harrowing account of the Canadian government's horrific treatment of Aboriginal peoples - I think everyone in Canada should have to read this book.
October 15, 2021
I read this book at the same time as I was reading JR Miller's SHINGWAUK'S VISION, both of which seem to be the best overviews of the Canadian residential school system. This book uses more archival material from the Federal Indian Service while Miller's book is more based on published documents. This book, as can be seen from the title, is a much angrier, but very complete book on the tragedy of the Canadian residential schools.
July 6, 2012
If you've never read a book about residential schools in Canada before, this is a good place to start -- and helps explain to people why kidnapping the children of a targeted people and forced assimilation constitutes a form of genocide.
January 10, 2022
Difficult, frustrating and painful to read but enlightening and informative and so so sad.
March 11, 2024
*4.5
Well wasn't that one of the toughest reads. Very informative and detailed. This should be mandatory reading in Canada.
Well wasn't that one of the toughest reads. Very informative and detailed. This should be mandatory reading in Canada.
December 27, 2025
A National Crime, originally published in 1999, is a non-fiiction book taking on the task of chronicling the rise and decline of the Canadian Residential School System. It talks of the various ways in which this system was used to erase native identity and the way it fundamentally failed at its basic function - the education of native children.
In this work, John S Milloy predominantly uses governmental documents, opting not to interview former residential school students. As a whole, this approach seems like the best course for the author to take as a non-native man who lacks the resources needed to support survivors past the interview process, since recounting their experiences can be retraumatising.
This documentary method also has the added benefit of showing that the government was well-aware of the abuses and negligence rampant in the system, and that they weren't mere incidents but a large scale pattern of negligence. It was known that students lived in unhygienic, dilapidated buildings, were regularly malnourished, suffered corporal punishment (unacceptable even by the standards of the times), were made to feel ashamed of their native identities (even in times where instilling pride in their heritage was recommended), were used as labour, were taught by inexperienced, unqualified staff, and completed their educations without the skills or knowledge promised. And all of that was ignored.
Of course, since the documents rarely take student tsetimony into account, there are issues that aren't properly reflected in this book - namely, that of the sexual abuse suffered by students, which often went unaddressed, unless it was done by students. However, I think the author did the responsible thing by not retraumatising former pupils and acknowledging the reasons for this omission from the text.
In this work, John S Milloy predominantly uses governmental documents, opting not to interview former residential school students. As a whole, this approach seems like the best course for the author to take as a non-native man who lacks the resources needed to support survivors past the interview process, since recounting their experiences can be retraumatising.
This documentary method also has the added benefit of showing that the government was well-aware of the abuses and negligence rampant in the system, and that they weren't mere incidents but a large scale pattern of negligence. It was known that students lived in unhygienic, dilapidated buildings, were regularly malnourished, suffered corporal punishment (unacceptable even by the standards of the times), were made to feel ashamed of their native identities (even in times where instilling pride in their heritage was recommended), were used as labour, were taught by inexperienced, unqualified staff, and completed their educations without the skills or knowledge promised. And all of that was ignored.
Of course, since the documents rarely take student tsetimony into account, there are issues that aren't properly reflected in this book - namely, that of the sexual abuse suffered by students, which often went unaddressed, unless it was done by students. However, I think the author did the responsible thing by not retraumatising former pupils and acknowledging the reasons for this omission from the text.
December 28, 2018
Very wordy and repetitive, but those are pretty minor gripes. Everybody should read this book. And keep in mind there's more to the story. This is only the side of government, and the voices of the victims still need to be heard. I guess that's for another book.
August 4, 2013
'Really liked it' seems an odd way of rating a book about a system of national child abuse, but this book definitely deserves four stars. It's a scholarly, yet accessible, thoroughly-researched history of the evolution and implementation of residential schools in Canada. Another book that should be required reading for all Canadians, even though some of the stories of maltreatment are hard to bear.
The book wasn't available in any of the libraries near here: I had to get it on interlibrary loan. This possibly says something uncomplimentary about the lack of significance accorded by the general Canadian public to this policy and its consequences to the people and communities who were affected.
And one minor gripe - the quality of editing was pretty poor - not what I'd hope for from a university press!
The book wasn't available in any of the libraries near here: I had to get it on interlibrary loan. This possibly says something uncomplimentary about the lack of significance accorded by the general Canadian public to this policy and its consequences to the people and communities who were affected.
And one minor gripe - the quality of editing was pretty poor - not what I'd hope for from a university press!
September 11, 2018
Milloy's is a detailed history based largely on the archives of the Department of Indian Affairs. His central argument emerges clearly from the evidence: the Canadian government had the knowledge and the ability to enforce (or at the very least, incentivize) better management of the residential school system and better treatment of the students, but they did not. The colossal failures of the southern system were even brought to the Northwest Territories in the 1950s to be repeated in a wholly new context. Milloy's critique of the system is bracing and certainly needed, but his choice of source material means that few Aboriginal voices make it into the book (with the exception of a handful of quotations from interviews with survivors of the system). For that reason, I'll be supplementing my own reading with interviews and some Indigenous-authored texts.
December 2, 2016
A National Crime by John S. Milloy is one of the most difficult books I've ever read. Exceptional research and respect for the subject matter, which is deeply disturbing as it centers on Canada's First Nations people suffering all manner of abuse at residential schools sanctioned by the government and run in large part by churches. That Milloy gives us the definition of genocide at the outset and shows how First Nation and Inuit Canadians were subject to that very atrocity with both care for those citizens and an honest assessment of accountability for white Canadians and their institutions of power. The difficulty of this text's subject matter is why I was not able to give it 4 or 5 stars but it certainly is a well-written and well-researched volume.
July 8, 2023
This book was very difficult to read as the author jumped forward and backwards and repeated himself so often you needed to reread sections to know whether the info was new or not. Could have been arranged in chronological order within each section to keep the reader focused on the material being presented. The information and subject matter itself is astounding, horrifying and disgusting in how our government and religious institutions treated the native children of our nation. Appalling how many studies and investigations were paid for with virtually nothing done with the recommendations that stemmed from them.
May 6, 2010
Currently reading this book and finding it highly disturbing to think how deliberate government policy was designed to destroy native culture in Canada using residential schools to "civilize" aborignal children.
This makes me feel ashamed to be a Canadian. This book is a quality piece of scholarship and is also quite readable, albeit the depressing nature of the topic.
This is a book that needed to be written and ought to be read by many.
Malcolm Watts
This makes me feel ashamed to be a Canadian. This book is a quality piece of scholarship and is also quite readable, albeit the depressing nature of the topic.
This is a book that needed to be written and ought to be read by many.
Malcolm Watts
September 4, 2014
An excellent legal-historical recounting of the documents and institutions that enabled and continue to enable colonization in Canada against Aboriginal Canadians. Milloy does an excellent job of tracing the complicity of the church and government via the Indian act in allowing colonization. Only complaint is that racism as a tool of colonization is not discussed or addressed in Milloy's work.
December 6, 2008
This is a historical look at residential schools in Canada snd the impacts it has had on First Nations people.
March 23, 2010
so glad I read it - think it should be mandatory reading for all canadians. And given the subject matter, the book was surprisingly readable. But heartbreaking.
May 26, 2009
Warning: this one gave me nightmares!
Currently reading
October 6, 2010All Canadians should read this book!
December 3, 2010
Canada's shameful history of Residential Schools. Everyone needs to understand what happened so that we can work together to heal our Native communities.
September 30, 2023
If you don’t count the 100 pages of endnotes, A National Crime: The Canadian Government and The Residential School System, 1879 to 1986 by John S. Milloy totals 300 dense pages. I came to the book expecting damning testimonials and eye-witness accounts from the indigenous population. Instead, I discovered a collection of reports, letters, articles and other written material by non-indigenous citizens — dating back as far as the 1800s — speaking out against the injustices they saw. Many of the citations are from government paid inspectors exposing how the children were “overworked, overtired and underfed” and subjected to a “poor diet” of “unfamiliar food,” “overcrowding” and “poor ventilation" that inevitably led to diseases like tuberculosis.
Despite such hard-to-read reports, I felt the book provided a balanced and not so absolutely dismal overview of this “national crime.” In many cases, some students did benefit from certain schools, especially those children coming from homes where the parents had neglected or abandoned them for drink or other vices. Many of the staff and schoolmasters were ardently looking out for the well being of the children, at their own expense, but simply had insufficient funding or concern from the government. As the chief medical officer of the Indian Department reported in 1907, a"trail of disease and death has gone on almost unchecked by any serious effort on the part of Indian Affairs."
In spite of little mention of the sexual abuse allegations, John S. Milloy's extensive historical references presents a crime scene that cannot be excused. While much of the aim of the residential school system may have been rooted in good intentions to improve the future of native children, the benefits of “killing the Indian and saving the child” were far outweighed by the negatives of what very much neared an attempt at cultural genocide.
Despite such hard-to-read reports, I felt the book provided a balanced and not so absolutely dismal overview of this “national crime.” In many cases, some students did benefit from certain schools, especially those children coming from homes where the parents had neglected or abandoned them for drink or other vices. Many of the staff and schoolmasters were ardently looking out for the well being of the children, at their own expense, but simply had insufficient funding or concern from the government. As the chief medical officer of the Indian Department reported in 1907, a"trail of disease and death has gone on almost unchecked by any serious effort on the part of Indian Affairs."
In spite of little mention of the sexual abuse allegations, John S. Milloy's extensive historical references presents a crime scene that cannot be excused. While much of the aim of the residential school system may have been rooted in good intentions to improve the future of native children, the benefits of “killing the Indian and saving the child” were far outweighed by the negatives of what very much neared an attempt at cultural genocide.
December 4, 2020
This has been one of the most difficult books that I have ever completed. It is sobering at the least. Every Canadian, hell, for that matter, everyone should read this book. With a recent decision by a supposedly indifferent police panel looking into a recent incident that happened regarding "the force" and a native of Nunavut, well, it shames me to say that our country still practices oppression. If after reading just a chapter or two you still feel that policing in North America does not need change, I guess you are a cop or have some sort of tradition of family policing. As mentioned, this was an extremely hard book to digest but I am thankful to continue my education on our governing system and what can be done to make it more favorable to all. I am not a believer in the church and after reading now numerous books on our complicit actions over the last century, it is very hard for me to understand church philosophy or whatever you want to call it. No child or human should have gone through what must have been horrific elements that were endured.
September 25, 2025
A hard book to get through as I see my government doing nothing over and over while receiving hundreds of inspection reports clearly detailing the horrific condititions the children were subjected to. Again and again NO ACTION was the action taken. Made me sick to learn of this ineptitude. Don't get me started on the many churches that bullied their grants through the system. The Canadian government failed these innocent children and organised religions hired rapists as carers.
Great research and writing by John S. Milloy.
Great research and writing by John S. Milloy.
September 16, 2019
Honestly, every Canadian should read this book. I wish I was educated on this topic in school and I certainly hope they are, to some capacity, now. It is so very important to know why our Indigenous neighbours deserve nothing but respect, understanding, and support. They are so resilient and it is important to stand beside them as they find their voices. This book is only the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a start.
January 20, 2023
The evidence is extensive, and the title is no exaggeration. I am glad I read this book to increase my knowledge of what the residential school system really did. The reason I gave it only three stars is because the writing is so dry and dispassionate that the shocking horrors which indigenous children were forced to endure evoked as much emotion as a weather report. There was no humanity in this book, and it really undercut the message it was trying to convey.
June 22, 2023
Honestly, everyone should read this. It doesn't matter what you think you know about residential schools - this will fill in the gaps or make you completely rethink what you know about the system. I've read a lot of personal accounts and they correlate to what I've read in this book. However, the book fills in a lot of administration gaps.
I'm also amazed at how many people (colonizers) spoke out against the schools but some gov and most church officials ignored the statements.
I'm also amazed at how many people (colonizers) spoke out against the schools but some gov and most church officials ignored the statements.
February 10, 2019
This is a chilling report of what happened at Residential Schools in Canada. Clearly a lot of research went into this over several years. It's heartbreaking to realize what exactly took place for so many years.
As my first eread, I appreciated getting to read this for free through my school library's website. That said, I missed reading off of paper. So, paper books it is for me!
As my first eread, I appreciated getting to read this for free through my school library's website. That said, I missed reading off of paper. So, paper books it is for me!
September 18, 2020
A horrific look at Canada's past. This has to have been one of the most emotionally damaging Books that I've ever read. I can't believe that we did this to people here. If you are ever curious as to what Residential Schools were about then this is probably your best source for learning, but you will be leaving a piece of your soul behind.
February 27, 2024
4.5* As expected, this book was horrifying from cover to cover. I do not recommend the audiobook as the narrator keeps reading the end notes. So he would read several words/a sentence, then say 'end note 1'. He'd read another sentence, then say 'end note 2', etc. Some chapters have over 150 end notes so it just got obnoxious. Read the printed version.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews