Effects of Assimilation on Indigenous food and diet

At home, the residential school students were fed fairly with fresh country foods; this included freshly hunted meat, fish, fresh vegetables from gardens, home-baked bread. These students had a difficult time digesting food that was different. Indigenous food was replaced with malnutritious diet - multiple sources confirm that porridge was fed seven days a week for breakfast and for a mid-afternoon snack - it was lumpy and bitter, and a old stale piece of bread was given, dry and without butter. Their diets were lacking with vitamins A, B, and C. They were not provided with enough healthy foods such as milk, fruit, vegetables, eggs and cheese. Some children have reported that they were always hungry. Other reported eating raw vegetables such as carrots and potatoes. Meanwhile, teachers and staff had steak and chicken, as reported by one of the residential school survivors, John PeeAce.

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