Series Promo
Canada has a long and dark history when it comes to Indigenous people. In this series we will be covering the Canadian Indian Residential School system from its inception to its end. This horrendous history is not decades long but over a century and a half. It is a story of cultural destruction, physical abuse, mental abuse and sexual abuse with a terrible body count.
Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, in 1883: “When the school is on the reserve the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages. Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence.”
Canada’s deputy minister of Indian Affairs Duncan Campbell Scott in 1920: “Our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic.”
Sources for this series
Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future
Government of Canada – Indian Residential Schools
Holy Angels – Film
We Were Children – Film
Indian Horse – Film
Indigenous Foundations
Canadian Encyclopedia
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Indigenous Peoples of Canada
Canadian Encyclopedia
Youtube
Library and Archives Canada
Shattering the Silence
Anglican Journal
Independent
Trail of Destruction 