Residential Schools

Since colonization in Canada began, Europeans viewed Indigenous peoples as inferior. Early European missionaries and administrators decided to educate, evangelize and civilize Natives, to whom they referred to as “savages.”

Over the years, colonizers had a similar goal of forcing Indigenous peoples to assimilate. To achieve this goal, the federal government implemented various measures, including the Indian residential school system in Canada, which lasted from 1831 to 1996.

The first residential school opened in Ontario in 1831. A few years after the Canadian federation was formed in 1867, the federal government funded the construction and operation of residential schools, but the Catholic, Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches were in charge of the education provided in the schools. These institutions were built across Canada, except in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.

Indian Residential Schools in Canada

Source: Indian residential schools in Canada, 2012

The official purpose of these institutions was to educate Indigenous youth. In reality, it was a major campaign aimed at assimilating Indigenous peoples across Canada.

Young Indigenous people were taken from their families, sometimes by force, and placed in residential schools. The education they received there was intended to erase their culture by forcing them to learn about Canadian Christian culture. These young students were alienated from their culture since they had no contact with their family members: some of them only returned to their communities for a few months during the summer, while other children remained in residential schools for years.

Control and authority was a priority in the schools in order to ensure forced assimilation, and punishment was common. Young Indigenous students were often subject to both mental and physical abuse, and sexual abuse was rarely punished. Living conditions in the residential schools were harsh and cold with widespread disease and malnutrition due to neglect.

In 1940, the Department of Indigenous Affairs decided to put an end to the residential school system and began gradually shutting them down, with the last boarding school closing its doors in 1996. Approximately 150 000 children attended these schools during the 165 years that they were open. It is difficult to know how many children died in the residential schools. So far, there have been 4134 confirmed deaths (CBC, 2013), but some estimate that as many as 6000 students may have died (Indian Residential Schools in Canada, 2012).

Indigenous cultures fragmented or were forgotten due to years of attempted assimilation. Some languages and customs were nearly lost because of residential schools. These schools left scars on Indigenous peoples and communities. Because of this, Indigenous communities and leaders lobbied for their rights to be recognized.