Residential School History

History of the Canadian Residential School System

The Canadian Residential School system was a dark part of our shared Canadian history.  Initially, about 1,100 students attended 69 schools across the country.  There were a total of about 130 schools in every territory and province except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.  The last closed in 1996. In all, about 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their families and communities and forced to attend the schools.  An estimated 80,000 former students are still alive today. Former federal Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler called this part of the Canadian experience “the single most harmful, disgraceful and racist act in our history”.

The assimilation policies of the Canadian government during these years were based upon the prevailing beliefs that Aboriginal cultures were inferior and incompatible with European social, religious and cultural norms. The conviction was that Aboriginal peoples were incapable of managing their own affairs.  Consequently, Aboriginal peoples were viewed as “children of the state” who should be moulded and transformed into English and French societal structures.  By isolating Aboriginal peoples on reserves, federal and provincial governments gradually prepared them for assimilation into the dominant society, rather than permitting them to continue their traditional ways and maintaining self-government or directly giving them the vote. 

The federal government and the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church,  the Methodist Church (United Church), and the Presbyterian Church entered into formal agreements for the education of Aboriginal Canadians.  With the ultimate goal of “civilizing” First Nations people, attendance at residential schools became compulsory under the Indian Act. Children aged 6 to 15 could be forcibly taken from their families and communities if they were not sent willingly.  Both law enforcement personnel, priests and other designated religious and governmental agents participated in these forced separations from family units.

Conditions in the schools were often abhorrent.  Children were subjected to physical, psychological and sexual abuse.  They were forbidden to speak their own language or practice their own culture – and were severely punished if they attempted to do so. Malnutrition, disease and suicide that flowed from the despair claimed the lives of many of these children.  So many of these accounts are now being told to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (www.trc.ca).

Rather than collaborating with Aboriginal leaders and communities to develop an integrated educational system that embraced and supported Aboriginal children and their heritage, the residential school system tore families and cultures apart. Languages, traditions, and social structures were erased, dishonoured, and disintegrated.   

Many of the students who survived carry with them the pain and consequences of these years. Most survivors saw their parents only infrequently – many never saw their parents again after entering the schools. Survivors were expected to raise their own children when they had little experience learning parenting skills from their own families. As many of students returned to their communities as victims of abuse, the cycle of these dark years was perpetuated.  As a result, the impact of the Canadian residential school system continues to be felt by subsequent generations of Aboriginal youth.

Canada's relationship with Aboriginal people has greatly suffered as a result of these policies.   Healing and repairing that relationship will require education, awareness, and an increased understanding of the legacy that is still being felt by so many people across this county. As National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atelo has noted, education will now be “a tool to strengthen our children and families, our governments and communities, our language and cultures”.

It is the intent and hope of the First Nations Computer Technology Fund and the Aboriginal Bursary to assist in the process.

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs."
~ Ansel Adams

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