The residential school system was a implementation that was created to assimilate First Nations children into a westernized worldview.
Children were forcibly taken from their homes, and communities, and brought to a church run schooling system. The children were given English names, often a id number, and were to live at the schools impermanently. The students were not allowed to return home to their families, nor were families allowed to visit their children regularly.
The CBC website, offers a explanation to the history of Residential Schools:
"In the 19th century, the Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating and caring for aboriginal people in Canada. It thought their best chance for success was to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. Ideally, they would pass their adopted lifestyle on to their children, and native traditions would diminish, or be completely abolished in a few generations.
The Canadian government developed a policy called "aggressive assimilation" to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, later called residential schools. The government felt children were easier to mold than adults, and the concept of a boarding school was the best way to prepare them for life in mainstream society.
Residential schools were federally run, under the Department of Indian Affairs. Attendance was mandatory. Agents were employed by the government to ensure all native children attended."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-canada-1.702280
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada also outlines what the schools history was:
During this era, more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were placed in these schools often against their parents' wishes. Many were forbidden to speak their language and practice their own culture. While there is an estimated 80,000 former students living today, the ongoing impact of residential schools has been felt throughout generations and has contributed to social problems that continue to exist.
http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=4
Children were forcibly taken from their homes, and communities, and brought to a church run schooling system. The children were given English names, often a id number, and were to live at the schools impermanently. The students were not allowed to return home to their families, nor were families allowed to visit their children regularly.
The CBC website, offers a explanation to the history of Residential Schools:
"In the 19th century, the Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating and caring for aboriginal people in Canada. It thought their best chance for success was to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. Ideally, they would pass their adopted lifestyle on to their children, and native traditions would diminish, or be completely abolished in a few generations.
The Canadian government developed a policy called "aggressive assimilation" to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, later called residential schools. The government felt children were easier to mold than adults, and the concept of a boarding school was the best way to prepare them for life in mainstream society.
Residential schools were federally run, under the Department of Indian Affairs. Attendance was mandatory. Agents were employed by the government to ensure all native children attended."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-canada-1.702280
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada also outlines what the schools history was:
During this era, more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were placed in these schools often against their parents' wishes. Many were forbidden to speak their language and practice their own culture. While there is an estimated 80,000 former students living today, the ongoing impact of residential schools has been felt throughout generations and has contributed to social problems that continue to exist.
http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=4