Residential Schools

The residential school system was established in 1879 by Prime Minister John A. MacDonald, and the first few residential schools were developed in 1883 in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Approximately 150,000 aboriginal children attended residential schools from the beginning to the end in 1996. The idea of residential schools, as European settlers viewed them, was to take aboriginal children from their homes and place them in a “civilized,” Christian education system where they would be able taught valuable skills. The purpose of these schools was to produce graduates who would be able to act and live in a non- Aboriginal community. The children were taught the European ways including the English language and were discouraged from talking in their

Children encountered emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. They were beaten and punished for breaking rules, one of which included speaking their native tongue. They would be locked in rooms, so they couldn’t escape. Some managed to break free, but were sometimes captured and abused or even killed for punishment. Others died during their escape. Children were not allowed to see their families and were taught to forget them. Some children fell ill, including tuberculosis, because of malnutrition and unsafe housing. The schools were known as “firetraps” because despite warnings that they needed fire escapes and sprinklers, the schools refused to spend money on it and ended up being prone to fire hazards and safety. Approximately 40,000 children died while in the care of residential schools. (National Post,

An example of support and change is the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement which was implemented on September 19, 2007. The Government of Canada states, “The Settlement Agreement represents the consensus reached between legal counsel for former students, legal counsel for the Churches, the Assembly of First Nations, other Aboriginal organizations and the Government of Canada. The implementation of this historic agreement brings a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian Residential Schools” (2016). The agreement has five major elements to address the legacy of residential schools. A common experience payment (compensation) to former students, an independent assessment for all sexual and major physical abuse, methods for healing, commemorative activities, and the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Government of Canada, 2016). Compensation and support can’t fix what residential schools did to Aboriginals, but it is a step further into deepening Canada’s relationship with Aboriginal