Where are the Children?

In the late 19^th century, the Canadian government undertook a formal partnership with the churches to run industrial, boarding, and residential schools for Aboriginal children. The Indian residential school system was designed to teach Aboriginal children the English language, as well as the religion, values, and work skills of Canadian society at the time.

The schools existed in all territories and in all but three provinces - New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. In the North, the residential school system also took the form of hostels. Many Inuit children were billeted in southern cities for the purposes of education and training. Although not identified as Métis, many Métis children attended residential schools in the West.

Today the schools have all been closed and much has been done to try and repair the damages caused to generations of Aboriginal peoples. Healing agencies and government support have been provided. Both the church groups who ran the schools and the government of Canada have offered apologies for the damage that they knowingly inflicted on the innocent children in their care. Monies have been made available for compensation for the victims of abuse.

As the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People stated in 1991, "The future must include making a place for those who have been affected by the schools to stand in dignity, to remember, to voice their sorrow and anger, and to be listened to with respect. With them Canada needs to pursue justice and mutual healing; it must build a relationship . . . that will bind Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people "so that they can trust each other and . . . can walk side by side and face this world having faith and confidence in one another."

Thus a conclusion of sorts comes to the dark era in Canadian Aboriginal history known as the residential school system. Though it will be many years before the healing is complete, it is important that all Canadians see that this is an era that will never be repeated and that for the future, Aboriginal people take their rightful place among the founding nations of this country.