"In 2008, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology to former students of residential schools was a momentous step in repairing a tragic blemish in the relationship between aboriginals and the Canadian authorities. It was the first time in Canadian history that a prime minister formally apologized for the mistreatment of native students who attended residential schools. The apology occurred immediately after the federal parliament approved a USD 2 billion compensation package for victims who had attended 130 such schools across Canada. Between the opening of the schools in the 1820s and the closing of the last school in 1996, a total of 150,000 children were separated from their families and forced to attend the residential schools, which were often located far from their homes. Not only were these usually Catholic-run facilities infamous for the sexual and physical abuse of students, but they were also breeding grounds for often-fatal diseases. It was not uncommon for tuberculosis to kill nearly half a class; one school reached a 69 percent death toll.

Canada’s residential schools exemplify a failed assimilation policy, a racist initiative that has contributed greatly to the distrust between the government and the First Nation. The schools have also exacerbated emotional and societal problems within the First Nation community, as a variety of social ills, like suicide, chronic incarceration and drug addiction plague former students as well as their children.

Why Residential Schools?

The residential schools were a result of the imperialist legacy and the belief of Euro-Canadians that native culture was intrinsically inferior. The schools were designed to “civilize” aboriginals by replacing native traits with Western values. Erasing indigenous culture became the official state policy in a Canadian society that viewed natives as backwards and savage."

Get the Story:
Ivan Ho: Residential Schools: Canada’s Inglorious Educational Past (Scoop 8/31)