Canadian Indian residential school system

"Aboriginal residential schools" redirects here. For the residential school system in the United States, see American Indian boarding schools. For other uses, see Indian school (disambiguation).

Exterior view of Qu'Appelle Indian Industrial School in Lebret, District of Assiniboia, c. 1885. Surrounding land and tents are visible in the foreground.
The Qu'Appelle Indian Industrial School in Lebret, Assiniboia, North-West Territories, c. 1885
Indigenous children working at long desks
Study period at a Roman Catholic Indian Residential School in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories

The Canadian Indian residential school system[nb 1] was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples.[nb 2] The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The school system was created to isolate Indigenous children from the influence of their own culture and religion in order to assimilate them into the dominant Euro-Canadian culture.[4][5][6]: 42 [7] Over the course of the system's more than hundred-year existence, around 150,000 children were placed in residential schools nationally.[8]: 2–3  By the 1930s, about 30 percent of Indigenous children were attending residential schools.[9] The number of school-related deaths remains unknown due to incomplete records. Estimates range from 3,200 to over 30,000, mostly from disease.[10][11][12][13]

The system had its origins in laws enacted before Confederation, but it was primarily active from the passage of the Indian Act in 1876, under Prime Minister Alexander MacKenzie. Under Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, the government adopted the residential industrial school system of the United States, a partnership between the government and various church organizations. An amendment to the Indian Act in 1894, under Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell, made attendance at day schools, industrial schools, or residential schools compulsory for First Nations children. Due to the remote nature of many communities, school locations meant that for some families, residential schools were the only way to comply. The schools were intentionally located at substantial distances from Indigenous communities to minimize contact between families and their children. Indian Commissioner Hayter Reed argued for schools at greater distances to reduce family visits, which he thought counteracted efforts to assimilate Indigenous children. Parental visits were further restricted by the use of a pass system designed to confine Indigenous peoples to reserves. The last federally-funded residential school, Kivalliq Hall in Rankin Inlet, closed in 1997. Schools operated in every province and territory with the exception of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The residential school system harmed Indigenous children significantly by removing them from their families, depriving them of their ancestral languages, and exposing many of them to physical and sexual abuse. Conditions in the schools led to student malnutrition, starvation, and disease.[14][15] Students were also subjected to forced enfranchisement as "assimilated" citizens that removed their legal identity as Indians. Disconnected from their families and culture and forced to speak English or French, students often graduated being unable to fit into their communities but remaining subject to racist attitudes in mainstream Canadian society. The system ultimately proved successful in disrupting the transmission of Indigenous practices and beliefs across generations. The legacy of the system has been linked to an increased prevalence of post-traumatic stress, alcoholism, substance abuse, suicide, and intergenerational trauma which persist within Indigenous communities today.[16]

Starting in the late 2000s, Canadian politicians and religious communities have begun to recognize, and issue apologies for, their respective roles in the residential school system. Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a public apology on his behalf and that of the other federal political party leaders. On June 1, 2008, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established to uncover the truth about the schools. The commission gathered about 7,000 statements from residential school survivors[nb 3] through various local, regional and national events across Canada. In 2015, the TRC concluded with the establishment of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and released a report that concluded that the school system amounted to cultural genocide. Ongoing efforts since 2021 have identified thousands of possible unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools, though no human remains have been exhumed. During a penitential pilgrimage to Canada in July 2022, Pope Francis reiterated the apologies of the Catholic Church for its role, also acknowledging the system as genocide.[18][19] In October 2022, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion calling on the federal Canadian government to recognize the residential school system as genocide.[20]

  1. ^ a b "Terminology Guide: Research on Aboriginal Heritage" (PDF). Library and Archives Canada. 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "14.12 Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Stereotyping, Identification of Groups". Translation Bureau. Public Works and Government Services Canada. 2017. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  3. ^ McKay, Celeste (April 2015). "Briefing Note on Terminology". University of Manitoba. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  4. ^ "The Residential School System". Indigenous Foundations. UBC First Nations and Indigenous Studies. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Luxen, Micah (June 24, 2016). "Survivors of Canada's 'cultural genocide' still healing". BBC News. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Milloy-1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Callimachi, Rukmini (July 19, 2021). "Lost Lives, Lost Culture: The Forgotten History of Indigenous Boarding Schools". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference TRCExec was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Residential Schools Overview". University of Manitoba. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  10. ^ Schwartz, Daniel (December 15, 2015). "341 students died at Northern residential schools". CBC News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  11. ^ Tasker, John Paul (May 29, 2015). "Residential schools findings point to 'cultural genocide', commission chair says". CBC News. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smith-2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Moran, Ry (October 5, 2020). "Truth and Reconciliation Commission". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Curry-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Daniel, Allison (June 28, 2021). "Nutrition researchers saw malnourished children at Indian Residential Schools as perfect test subjects". The Conversation. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022.
  16. ^ McQuaid, Robyn Jane; Bombay, Amy; McInnis, Opal Arilla; Humeny, Courtney; Matheson, Kimberly; Anisman, Hymie (June 24, 2017). "Suicide Ideation and Attempts among First Nations Peoples Living On-Reserve in Canada: The Intergenerational and Cumulative Effects of Indian Residential Schools". Canadian Journal of Psychiatry / Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie. 62 (6): 422–430. doi:10.1177/0706743717702075. PMC 5455875. PMID 28355491.
  17. ^ Harper, Stephen (June 11, 2008). "Statement of apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools". Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  18. ^ "Pope Francis offers historic apology in Canada". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  19. ^ Taylor, Stephanie (August 2, 2022). "After Pope called residential schools 'genocide,' House of Commons should too: NDP MP". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  20. ^ "Motion to call residential schools genocide backed unanimously". The Globe and Mail. October 28, 2022. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2022.


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