For more than a century, Canada's system of residential schools separated over 150 000
First Nations, Inuit and Métis children from their families.
Residential schools were a calculated system focused on individual and cultural assimilation, or
to kill the Indian in the child.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commissions describe the
residential school system as a form of cultural genocide. Today we recognize that this policy of
assimilation was wrong and reflects a dark and shameful time in Canada's history. We
also recognize that the residential school system has had a lasting and profoundly damaging impact
on Indigenous People, communities, culture and language across Canada. By acknowledging the past
and educating Canadians about the experiences of Indigenous children in these schools
we will ensure that the history is never forgotten, and never again will these tragedies be repeated.
I'm Janet Longclaws I live in Long Plain First Nation.
I am a residential school Survivor. I went to Brandon Indian Residential School for five years.
Residential boarding schools are older than Canada itself. The first school opened in the early 1830s,
concerted federal government involvement in the residential schools began in the 1880s and the
last residential school closed as recently as the late 1990s.
My father was a truck driver. He would leave before we left.
He didn't want to be there when we left and mom was home alone.
She tried to be joyful and cheerful and she would hug us all the time.
Successive generations of families went to residential schools.
The government allowed children to suffer discrimination and abuse, including malnutrition.
At some schools children were subjected to nutritional experiments.
My name is Wanbdi Wakita. I come from a community called Sioux Valley. I am Dakota.
I went to two different schools. One was called Birtle Indian Residential School.
And my dad said, if you kids don't go to school the RCMP is going to put me in jail, he said.
My experience was I grew up really protected at home when I was young.
My mom and dad, my grandpa, my brothers and sisters.
But when I went to residential school, that's totally a different way of doing things.
Eating, for instance, they practically starved you.
Many of the people and institutions who
were entrusted with the care and protection of the children instead subjected them to discrimination,
hardship, neglect, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Leaving a multi-generational legacy of pain and trauma.
In residential school we only lived in moments. Moments where we could just stand still,
be a little soldier, not look, not see, not hear, not witness anything.
Residential schools focused on assimilation. Cutting the long hair of children and cutting their ties to their culture.
Children were punished severely and sometimes even beaten for speaking in their language or following their traditions.
The teacher was absolutely mean.
She threw chalk and brushes at us, she twisted my ear. I never seen that teacher smile once. She always had that mean look.
Indigenous children were isolated from their homes and their communities,
from the nurturing support of their parents, from their language,
from their traditions, and from their cultures.
We also had to go to church.
I don't know what kind of church that was, but when you went to residential school and you had to
sing these strange songs and and say these prayers in an English language, you know, that that's quite
a deal actually, to try and be somebody else and you're not.
You know we lost a lot of things.
Culture, well language is culture and all our songs, our ceremonies, all of those things were missed by
those people who went to residential school. And you could tell that it was hurtful.
Not only did they lose their culture, they also was punished by severe
abuse, horrific abuse. I mean, how is it possible that we would go through something like that.
And, you know, a lot of us done our best to survive from that, those kinds of things.
Thousands of Indigenous children died while attending residential schools.
Some of these buildings still stand. The unmarked graves that scatter the country lie silent.
Our community has the Portage Indian Residential Schools at our Keeshkeemaquah Reserve near
Portage la Prairie. We've been working on keeping that building, restoring it
as a heritage place and it's important that we have that. Some people won't go into the
building. For some, our elders, they won't go near the place and I understand that. It's a reminder
that we're still here. It's a legacy, perhaps not ours, but we can be part of it and it's okay .
Today, residential school Survivors still carry the scars of abuse.
Many of those scars have been passed down to the generations who have followed.
But the Survivors are also strong, they have fought hard to bring their experiences to light
and continue to demand justice and accountability.
This has paved the way for the reclamation of cultural traditions, relearning of languages, and healing.
Our Indian residential school experiences matter because we matter.
And we need to carry on with courage, and honor our culture, our languages, our families, our communities.
And we can be resilient, we are still resilient. We're still here and we will continue to be.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action number 79 challenges us all to ensure
the injustices of the past will never be repeated and that the remaining effects of these injustices
will be overcome through mutual respect and partnership. This call asks Canada to recognize
residential schools as a central aspect of its history as a country to never forget the harms,
the history, and legacy of residential schools and the children who paid the ultimate price.
By working together, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, residential school Survivors from across the country, Parks Canada, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, the Government of Canada made possible the designation of the Residential School System as a national historic event.
Together we are taking a significant step forward to ensure all children
know and understand the full scope of their shared history.
We can never forget what the Survivors endured through remembering these harms of the past, we
are creating a world where the children of today and tomorrow are given the information they
need to build a Canada free from inequality and injustice. The courage, determination and strength
of residential school Survivors has given us the collective opportunity to build a better Canada.