Residential schools were federally funded boarding schools for Indigenous children that operated in Canada for more than 160 years. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children were forcibly removed from their families and communities and placed in these institutions as part of the government's policy of forced assimilation.

The goal of the residential school system was to separate Indigenous children from their cultures, languages, families, and ways of life. Children were expected to adopt European-Canadian cultural practices, speak English or French, and were often pressured to adopt Christianity. They were prohibited from speaking their traditional languages or practicing cultural traditions, and those who did faced harsh punishment.

Between the 1870s and the 1990s, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children attended residential schools across Canada. The last federally operated residential school closed in 1996.

For many children, residential schools were places of profound loss and trauma. Children were separated from their families, communities, and cultures, often for long periods of time. They experienced neglect, abuse, and harsh living conditions.

The impacts of residential schools continue to be felt today. Survivors, their families, and communities continue to experience the intergenerational effects of the system, including the loss of language, culture, and family connections. Understanding this history is an important part of Truth and Reconciliation and helps us better understand the experiences of Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

While no residential schools operated in Waterloo Region, the Mohawk Institute Residential School in nearby Brantford was Canada's longest-running residential school.

Operating from 1828 to 1970, approximately 15,000 Indigenous children from more than 60 communities attended the school. Survivors have shared experiences of forced assimilation, abuse, neglect, and inadequate living conditions.

Today, the former school is home to the Woodland Cultural Centre, which preserves the site's history, honours survivors, and provides educational opportunities for visitors to learn about the residential school system and its lasting impacts.

Learning about residential schools can be difficult, but it is an important part of understanding Canada's history and the ongoing journey toward Truth and Reconciliation. Taking time to listen to Survivor stories, learn Indigenous histories, and reflect on the impacts of the residential school system helps foster greater understanding, respect, and reconciliation.

Residential schools and day schools were both part of Canada’s colonial system of assimilating First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children. The central difference was whether children were forced to live away from home.

Federal Indian day schools were schools Indigenous children attended during the day and generally returned home from in the evening. They operated in or near First Nations communities, rather than housing children overnight.

That meant day school students often retained more daily contact with parents, relatives, community members, and land than residential-school students. However, that distinction should not be interpreted as meaning that day schools were ordinary, safe, or harmless schools.

Library and Archives Canada describes day schools as part of the same forced-assimilation framework as residential schools. It notes that, although children did not live at day schools, many experienced the same forms of abuse and neglect.

Resources:

• History of Residential Schools
• Video on Canadian Residential Schools
• Woodland Cultural Centre
• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: Archives & Collections