Residential Schools Apology

*Note: I appreciate this is an incredibly sensitive subject that is still ongoing. Reconciliation will not be achieved until the voices of all those affected have been heard and acknowledged, the ongoing wrongs against Indigenous peoples have been righted and every single call to action has been achieved. These notes refer specifically to the official apology for the residential school system as stated by then Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, in 2008*

• As the government continued to transfer control of local affairs to individual First Nations, education also began to be “given back” to the Indigenous people.
• New education policies began to emerge in the 1970s, with First Nations developing education systems that incorporated both the fundamental elements of a modern curriculum, as well as aspects of their respective traditions, languages and cultures.
• Special grants for training First Nations teachers, traditional language classes and lessons in First Nations history and culture helped strengthen these new education systems.
• With these advances, the residential school system increasingly fell out of favour and was slowly phased out.
• The final residential school, located in Saskatchewan, was closed in 1996.
• While First Nations took charge of educating their children, the legacy of the residential school system became increasingly apparent.
• More and more stories surfaced regarding abuse and mistreatment of children by school administrators and teachers.
• In 1990, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs leader Phil Fontaine called on the government and the churches involved with residential schools to acknowledge and address the decades of abuse and mistreatment that occurred at these institutions.
• In its final report, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples noted the deep and lasting negative impacts this policy had on those who attended the residential schools, as well as their families, communities and cultures.
• As claims and litigation against the government and churches continued to mount, the first steps toward reconciliation began in the 1990s.
• The various churches involved in running these institutions were began to offer their apologies to residential school survivors (note: the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops only officially apologized for their role in the country's notorious residential school system in 2021, and to date the Vatican has yet to apologize)
• In 1998, the government also acknowledged its role in the abuse and mistreatment of Aboriginal students during their time at residential schools.
• Finally, in 2007 the Government announced a compensation package called the Common Experience Package for residential school survivors, worth nearly $2 billion.
• The settlement included a “common experience” payment, as well as an independent assessment process, commemoration activities, and measures to support healing.
• The Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created to act as an independent association and to provide a safe and culturally appropriate place for former students and others affected by the residential school system to share their experiences.
• The Government of Canada (via Prime Minister Stephen Harper) offered a historic formal apology on June 11, 2008 to all former students of residential schools, and asked their forgiveness for the suffering they experienced and for the impact the schools had on Indigenous cultures, heritage and languages.
• The apology also made clear the government's commitment to address the legacy of residential schools through continuing measures, including the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

 

The Residential Schools Apology from Hansard

I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools. The treatment of children in these schools is a sad chapter in our history. For more than a century, Indian residential schools separated over 150,000 aboriginal children from their families and communities.

In the 1870s, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligations to educate aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools.

Two primary objectives of the residential school system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption that aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as was infamously said, “to kill the Indian in the child.”

Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country. One hundred and thirty-two federally-supported schools were located in every province and territory, except Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Most schools were operated as joint ventures with Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian and United churches. The Government of Canada built an educational system in which very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes and often taken far from their communities. Many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed. All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities. First Nations, Inuit and Métis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in these schools. Tragically, some of these children died while attending residential schools, and others never returned home.

The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and language. While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities. The legacy of Indian residential schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today.

It has taken extraordinary courage for the thousands of survivors who have come forward to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered. It is a testament to their resilience as individuals and to the strengths of their cultures. Regrettably, many former students are not with us today and died never having received a full apology from the Government of Canada.

The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation. Therefore, on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to Aboriginal peoples for Canada’s role in the Indian residential schools system.

To the approximately 80,000 living former students and all family members and communities, the Government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes, and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities, and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow, and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that far too often these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you. Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry.

The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long. The burden is properly ours as a government, and as a country. There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian residential schools system to ever again prevail.

You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time, and in a very real sense we are now joining you on this journey. The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.

We are sorry.

In moving toward healing, reconciliation and resolution of the sad legacy of Indian residential schools, the implementation of the Indian residential schools settlement agreement began on September 2007. Years of work by survivors, communities and aboriginal organizations culminated in an agreement that gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to move forward together in partnership.

A cornerstone of the settlement agreement is the Indian residential schools truth and reconciliation commission. This commission represents a unique opportunity to educate all Canadians on the Indian residential schools system. It will be a positive step in forging a new relationship between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians, a relationship based on the knowledge of our shared history, a respect for each other and a desire to move forward with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of us.

God bless all of you. God bless our land.