Residential Schools in Canada: A Timeline

Summary

Key Points

• The Mohawk Institute, run by the Anglican Church, became Canada's first government-funded residential school, established to assimilate Indigenous children into Western culture. 0:22
• The Indian Act of 1876 granted the Canadian government control over Indigenous rights and culture, leading Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to authorize the residential school system to isolate Indigenous children from their families. 1:02
• Mandatory attendance for First Nations children aged 7 to 16 was enforced, despite Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce's exposure of the government's neglect and alarmingly high death rates among students. 1:40
• Students resisted the system through various acts, including setting dozens of fires at schools across Canada. 2:05
• The residential school system expanded to include Inuit children, and later, over 20,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families in what became known as the "Sixties Scoop," losing their language, culture, and identity. 2:11
• The death of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack after escaping a residential school led to an investigation that found the schools caused tremendous emotional and psychological problems. 2:57
• Phil Fontaine's public disclosure of abuse at a residential school prompted a federal inquiry in 1991, leading to recommendations for a public inquiry into the schools' effects, including language loss and trauma. 3:41
• The Canadian government provided compensation to survivors, including the Common Experience Payment, and established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to address the legacy of residential schools. 3:50
• Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology for Canada's role in the residential school system, and the TRC later characterized Canada's treatment of Indigenous people as "cultural genocide," releasing 94 calls to action. 4:07
• The legacy of the residential school system, which caused the deaths of thousands of children, continues to affect over 80,000 survivors and their families, underscoring the importance of remembrance and learning from this history. 4:55