The Exercise of Unacceptable Power: Using the Lessons of the Canadian Residential School Closures to Achieve Penal Abolition

• In Event: Penal Abolition: Session 2 of 2

Abstract

Penal abolition cannot start from a position of reform or it is destined to fail. The authors of this presentation contend that the abolition of residential schools for indigenous children in Canada offers lessons for dismantling the disciplinary structure currently used to reinforce social and political hierarchies. While the residential school system is almost universally recognized as a failure, the striking similarities between the underlying premises, the operations, and the lived experiences of individuals in the two total institutions (residential schools and prisons) suggest that prisons should be similarly re-evaluated. Moreover, the political tactics and strategies of resistance and political action that led to the closure of schools offer lessons that could be employed by abolitionists.

Authors

• Chris Clarkson, Okanagan College

• Melissa Munn, Okanagan College