From the late 19th century to the 1970s, Canada's Indian Residential School System forcibly removed approximately 100,000 Indigenous children from their families and communities. These children were enrolled in government-funded schools, often run by religious organizations, where they faced severe physical, emotional, and cultural abuse. The purpose of this system was to assimilate Indigenous children into white society, stripping them of their cultural heritage and language. The legacy of the Residential School System continues to have a profound impact on Indigenous communities in Canada, causing intergenerational trauma, loss of cultural identity, and disruption of family structures.
