In the early 19th century the Canadian government believed it was their responsibility to educate all future generations. They took it upon themselves to create boarding schools for the First Nations run by the church so that they could adapt to the “Canadian”, Christian ways of life. The government became extremely aggressive in forcing children to attend these schools, and had agents assigned to make sure all children attended. 1931was considered the peak of the residential schools with about 80 schools across Canada educating over 150,000 Aboriginal, Inuit, and Métis children. The government believed the problem was that the native North American cultures couldn’t adapt to Canada’s changing society The children were forced to speak only in English or French and were completely removed from their home environment. They thought this would solve the problem and help the First Nations adapt to Canada's modern culture. It was reported that many of the students underwent emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The problem only got worse when the students returned home when they were finished school. They didn’t belong at home because they had been removed for 10 months a year with almost no communication with parents. The students couldn’t help at home because they never learned the skills needed to work in a native culture and eventually became ashamed of their heritage. It took many years but eventually the government closed down the schools. The last one closed in 1996 (Gordon Residential School, Saskatchewan). In 2007 the federal government created a $1.6 billion compensation package for students of these residential schools and it took until 2009 for the final apologies from the churches.
Nicole
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