What was the purpose of residential schools?
- To educate and assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream Canadian culture
- To provide university education in the North
- To teach Aboriginal languages
- To train children to become teachers
Answer: To educate and assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream Canadian culture
From the 1800s until the 1980s, the federal government put many Aboriginal children in residential schools to educate them and assimilate them into mainstream Canadian culture. Aboriginal languages and cultural practices were mostly banned there. The schools were poorly funded, students suffered hardship, and some were physically abused.
Learn more: Residential schools
- Residential schools ran from the 1800s until the 1980s.
- Their purpose was to educate and assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream Canadian culture.
- The schools were poorly funded and inflicted hardship; some students were physically abused.
- Aboriginal languages and cultural practices were mostly prohibited in the schools.
- In 2008, the federal government (Ottawa) formally apologized to former students.