Indian Residential Schools

Indian Residential Schools is a system of schools for Indigenous children in Canada.

In Anishinabek News

• April 2013: A monument was unveiled in 2013 to honor the resilience of survivors who attended these institutions. The system aimed to kill the Indian in the child by removing their culture and language. The Union of Ontario Indians legal department created a project including a book and website to document the schools' effects on families.
• June 2015: Approximately 150,000 Indigenous children attended these institutions. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established to examine the harm done by these schools.
• March 2016: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was tasked with documenting the experiences of survivors and communities affected by these schools.
• October 2019: Approximately 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were impacted by the 139 schools that operated across Canada. Many children in these institutions suffered mental, physical, and sexual abuse while being forced to abandon their languages and cultures.
• June 2021: The long-term impacts of these institutions are discussed as a serious theme within The Case of the Burgled Bundle: A Mighty Muskrats Mystery.
• June 2021: The Anishinabek Nation requested resources for First Nations to conduct surveys of former school sites similar to the work done in Kamloops. A national day of mourning was proposed for August 3 to mark the loss of lives at these institutions.
• June 2021: The system is described as a dark part of history that stripped students of their Indigenous identities. As of June 2021, the discovery of gravesites at former school locations prompted calls for a deeper understanding of this history. Survivors and leaders advocate for listening to the stories of those who attended these institutions.
• July 2021: Recoveries at these school sites across Canada caused widespread anger and frustration in 2021. Perry Bellegarde described the history of this system as a tragedy of an almost unimaginable nature for most Canadians.
• July 2021: The Indian Residential Schools system caused intergenerational trauma for survivors and their descendants. As of July 2021, recent revelations about the Indian Residential Schools system included the discovery of hidden corpses at former school sites. The grandfather of Randy Kritkausky attended three different residential schools located in the United States.
• August 2021: The discovery of unmarked graves at these former school sites in 2021 motivated youth to learn more about their heritage. Generational gaps in cultural knowledge within Aamjiwnaang First Nation were attributed in part to the impact of these institutions. Pam Plain stated that the founders of these schools intended to eliminate Indigenous identity in children.
• August 2021: The discovery of graves at these former institutions has been described as a shameful legacy. A Day of Mourning was held in 2021 to honor the children who never returned home from these schools.
• August 2021: The Government of Canada is providing $100.1 million to help communities manage the future of these buildings. Recent confirmations of burial sites at these locations have impacted the mental health of survivors and their families.
• September 2021: The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established to honour the survivors, families, and communities affected by this school system. The system is described as a tragic and painful history involving the stripping away of culture, freedom, and self-esteem from Indigenous children. As of September 2021, recoveries at the former sites of these institutions were ongoing.
• September 2021: The legacy of the residential school system continues to affect First Nations communities and families. Unmarked graves containing the bodies of children were discovered on the grounds of former school sites. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established to acknowledge the history and victims of these institutions.
• October 2021: A cedar tree was planted in Thunder Bay to honour the children lost to this system and the survivors who remain. The discovery of unmarked graves at former school sites in Kamloops and other parts of Canada served as a reminder of the system's impact.
• November 2021: The legacy of these institutions is a major theme in Ed Whitcomb's overview of Canadian colonialism. Karl Hele noted that the book should be updated to reflect the uncovering of hundreds of unmarked graves at former school sites.
• December 2021: Survivors of the system in Nipissing First Nation are the beneficiaries of a local community fund. The history of these institutions is shared by survivors like June Commanda to ensure the public does not forget the past.
• January 2022: Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux argued that child welfare agencies stepped in to finish the job when these schools did not 'kill the Indian in the child'.
• February 2022: Indian Residential Schools in Ontario often transported children thousands of kilometres away from their home communities. The Anishinabek Nation territory contained five of these schools, including the Spanish Girls School and Spanish Boys School. The legacy of these schools has created an overlap of impacted communities across many traditional territories.
• June 2022: The Anishinabek Nation noted that the policies of these institutions continue to create negative impacts for its citizens. Supporters were encouraged to wear orange to honour the survivors of these schools and their ancestors.
• July 2022: The system was designed to eliminate Indigenous culture in children for over a century. As of July 2022, public attention has focused on the discovery of possible unmarked graves at these former school sites. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement excluded those who attended Indian Day Schools.
• August 2022: The discovery of potential grave sites at a former school in Kelowna, British Columbia, prompted calls for increased healing support. Survivors of these institutions gathered in Edmonton in 2022 to hear an apology from Pope Francis.
• September 2022: The discovery of numerous potential unmarked graves at these former school sites has caused significant trauma. Nicole Richmond argued that the legacy of these institutions is not historical but continues to impact people as of September 2022.
• October 2022: The Honouring Our Children Reconciliation Run was held to remember the children who were taken to these schools and those who never returned. Calvin Redsky emphasized the need to remember the sacrifices and history associated with these institutions.
• October 2022: Between the 1830s and 1990s, more than 150,000 children were taken from their families and sent to these institutions across Canada. Students at these schools were stripped of their cultures and languages while enduring abuse, disease, and unsafe conditions.
• February 2023: Indigenous communities in Canada faced forced assimilation and the re-education of children through Indian Residential Schools at the turn of the twentieth century.
• February 2023: The federal government is seeking recommendations on identifying and uncovering human remains at the sites of these former schools. The Anishinabek Nation stated that reclaiming the remains of children from these sites is necessary for healing.
• March 2023: A panel in Sudbury discussed how these institutions caused emotional loss and prevented survivors from learning how to provide tender care to their children. The system is described as having disrupted Indigenous identity, belonging, and the traditional way of life.
• April 2023: The play The Land Acknowledgement or As You Like It refers to these institutions as rape camps to highlight the trauma experienced by survivors. The performance links the church's actions in these schools to broader themes of genocide.
• September 2023: The Indian Residential Schools system caused fear, pain, and shame for generations of Indigenous children through policies of forced separation. Four specific institutions, including Kamloops Residential School and Grollier Hall, are depicted on new stamps to support healing and reconciliation.
• November 2023: The history of these institutions is a topic that Karen Restoule noted Canadians are becoming better informed about.
• January 2024: The second part of The Sky Watched: Poems of Ojibwe Lives traces the experiences and lasting effects of these institutions on children. The poetry of Linda LeGarde Grover depicts the harsh realities of life inside these classrooms and the subsequent efforts of communities to rebuild traditions.
• March 2024: The system forcibly removed seven generations of children from their homes, leading to long-term intergenerational trauma. The schools demanded that students suppress their emotions to survive, contributing to contemporary Childhood Emotional Neglect. The legacy of these institutions is linked to current challenges in gender balance and the loss of traditional knowledge.
• May 2024: The impact of these schools is a theme in the book Love Life Loss and a little bit of hope: Poems from the Soul.
• November 2024: The system was funded by the federal government with the intent to assimilate Indigenous children into society. The last of these institutions closed in 1997. The schools caused intergenerational trauma by preventing children from speaking their languages and separating them from their families.
• April 2025: The author of Herring to Huckleberries notes that much of the language was lost when children were sent to these institutions.
• April 2025: The Anishinabek Nation described these schools as a painful legacy of colonialism intended to erase Indigenous languages and cultures. The trauma from these institutions continues to impact First Nations communities across generations.
• March 2026: Bob Goulais cited this system as a factor in the loss of traditional values like love within First Nations communities.
• June 2026: The legacy of Indian Residential Schools is cited as a cause for the intergenerational mistrust of the Ontario education system. The article notes a rise in denialism regarding the history and impact of Indian Residential Schools.