Residential Schools Case Study

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The residential school system in Canada was a joint initiative between the Canadian government and the broader Christian church. Operative onwards from 1831, with the last school closing its doors in 1996 (The Canadian Encyclopedia), these schools were constructed to serve a specific purpose: assimilating Indigenous children into the dominant Euro-Canadian culture. More than 150,000 First Nation, Inuit, and Métis children (The Canadian Encyclopedia) attended these institutions during this grim chapter in Canada’s colonial policy history.
Residential schools met the primary objective of assimilating Indigenous children by forcibly removing them from their homes, families, and communities. Upon removal, Indigenous youth faced overt spiritual