Canada's Residential School System

Canada’s Residential School System

What was the Indian Residential School System?

• A network of boarding schools for Indigenous Peoples.
  
  

• Funded by the Canadian government’s Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches (Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and United).
  
  

• Existed for approximately 100 years in Canada.
  
  

Why Was the Residential School System Created?

• Created to remove children from their own culture and assimilate them into dominant Canadian culture.
  
  

• Focused on “aggressive assimilation”.
  
  

• Children were easier to "mold" than adults.
  
  

Who Was in the Schools?

• Around 30% (150,000) of Indigenous children attended.
  
  

• 6,000+ students are estimated to have died due to malnutrition, abuse, and other factors.
  
  

Where Did the Idea of Residential Schools Come From?

• Origins in laws before Confederation but became prominent after the Indian Act of 1876.
  
  

• 1884 Amendment to the Indian Act made attendance at residential schools compulsory for First Nations children.
  
  

• Remote school locations meant some families had no choice but to send their children.
  
  

Impact on the Family

• Schools were located far from communities to minimize contact between children and families.
  
  

• Less conflict between schools’ assimilation efforts and parental influence due to the pass system, which restricted visits.
  
  

• The last federally operated residential school closed in 1996.
  
  

Impact on Indigenous Culture and Spirituality

• Cultural harm: Children were removed from their families, deprived of their languages, and exposed to physical and sexual abuse.
  
  

• Gradual Civilization Act (1857): Enfranchisement forced children to abandon their cultural identity to become “regular British subjects.”
  
  

Long-Term Impact

• Disconnected from family and culture: Children were forced to speak English or French and often struggled to fit into either their community or Canadian society.
  
  

• Linked to PTSD, alcoholism, substance abuse, and suicide.
  
  

Has Canada Made Amends?

• On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a public apology on behalf of the Canadian government.
  
  

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to uncover the truth about the residential schools.
  
  

• The TRC concluded in 2015 that the residential school system amounted to “Cultural Genocide.”