Archives: Timeline Slider

This is a timeline of colonial policies including residential schools in Canada.

Chanie Wenjack’s story is just one of thousands. We have included his story in this timeline to help humanize the history and build understanding of the individual, family, and community impacts of residential schools.

Boarding schools are established for Indigenous youth by the Récollets, a French order in New France. Later, the Jesuits and a female order called the Ursulines create more schools. This form of assimilation lasts until the 1680s. The Récollets came to New France in 1615, and were present at various times in Acadia, Newfoundland, and Québec.

Early church schools are run by Protestants, Catholics, Anglicans, and Methodists.

The Mohawk Institute Residential School opens as the Mechanics’ Institute, a day school for boys on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve. The school began to function as a residential school for boys, and starting in 1834, took in girls as well. It operated under the Anglican Church of Canada.

Egerton Ryerson produces a study of native education at the request of the assistant superintendent general of Indian Affairs. His findings become the model for future residential schools. Ryerson recommends that domestic education and religious instruction is the best model for the Indigenous population. The recommended focus is on agricultural training, and government funding will be awarded through inspections and reports.

Indian Affairs is transferred from the Imperial Government to the Province of Canada. This is after the Imperial Government shifts its policy from fostering the autonomy of Indigenous populations through industry to assimilating them through education.

The Indian Act is implemented. It contains several clauses that allow the federal government to establish and expand residential schools.

Amendments to the Indian Act of 1876 provided for the official creation of residential schools. This system is to be funded and operated by the Government of Canada and Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and United churches.

The Canadian government bans traditional Indigenous ceremonies, such as the potlatch.

The Mohawk Institute Residential School begins operation under the Government of Canada.

Alberni Indian Residential School in British Columbia opens in 1890 and is operated by the Presbyterian Church. Children become unwilling subjects in nutrition studies to test the body’s response to a lack of nutrients and medical care. As part of the study, some of the children’s diets were enhanced with Western food products such as pasteurized milk and vitamin supplements, while other children in the study were given nothing or placebos.

St. Mary’s is founded by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers. The principal at the time was Father Gaston Lebleu, who would later insist, under oath, that his students were never subjected to corporal punishment.

After visiting 35 residential schools, Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce, Chief Medical Officer for Canada’s Department of the Interior and Indian Affairs from 1904-1921, reveals that Indigenous children were dying at alarming rates. Bryce suggests the mortality rate could be as high as 42 per cent.

Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, Duncan Campbell Scott, makes residential school attendance mandatory for every Indigenous child between 7 and 16 years of age.

Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce publishes The Story of a National Crime, exposing the government’s suppression of information on the health of Indigenous Peoples. Bryce argued that Duncan Campbell Scott and the Ministry of Indian Affairs neglected Indigenous health needs and noted a “criminal disregard for the treaty pledges.”

During the 1930s, the residential school system had a network of 80 to 90 schools with enrolment exceeding 17,000 children.

The Canadian Government issues numbered identification discs to the Inuit to replace their names.

Researchers use Canada’s residential schools to conduct tests over a five-year period at six institutions with close to 1000 Indigenous children selected for the experiments. These research investigations were conducted by trained dietitians working for either the Red Cross or the federal Nutrition Division, led by director Lionel Pett.

Inuit populations are forcibly moved to High Arctic to reinforce Canadian sovereignty, and there is a high rate of fatality during the process.

The federal government expands the system of residential schools and hostels to Inuit children in the far north.

Chanie Wenjack is born to parents Agnes and Jim Wenjack in Ogoki Post, Marten Falls First Nation.

The Reed Paper company dumps thousands of kilograms of mercury-contaminated effluent into the English-Wabigoon River System, causing one of Canada’s worst environmental disasters in Grassy Narrows.

The Sixties Scoop
As residential schools began to close, thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families by provincial and federal social workers and placed in foster or adoption homes. Often, these homes were non-Indigenous. Some children were even placed outside of Canada, with no communication to their families.

At the age of nine, Chanie Wenjack is sent to Cecilia Jeffery Indian Residential School in Kenora, ON, located 600km away from his family in Ogoki Post. There are 150 students living at the school, and Chanie is put into remedial classes soon after arriving. Chanie’s name is Anglicized to “Charlie” while at school.

Chanie Wenjack is only 12 years old when he runs away from Cecilia Jeffrey, a Presbyterian-run residential school in Kenora, Ontario on Sunday, October 16.

Chanie Wenjack dies of hunger and exposure near Farlane, Ontario.

Elwood McIvor, a CN railway engineer on freight train number No. 821, discovers Chanie’s lifeless body beside the track at 11:20 a.m.

An inquest begins into Chanie’s death. This is the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools and sparks national attention. The jury report recognized that, “The Indian education system causes tremendous emotional & adjustment problems for these children.” They recommended, “A study be made of the present Indian education & philosophy. Is it right?”

The case persuades Indian Affairs to issue much clearer guidelines to every institution, only in Ontario, on how to deal with runaways. They were to inform police, interview friends, and organize a prompt search. If six hours passes with no sign of the student, their family were to be notified.

Maclean’s magazine publishes “The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack,” written by Ian Adams on February 6, 1967.

The agreement between the churches and the Canadian government comes to an end, with the Department of Indian Affairs assuming responsibility for the remaining schools. The transfer of a few schools to local bands begins.

Phillip Swain, age 12 and known to his mom and dad as “Bean,” is found frozen to death 60km outside of Kenora, Ontario. Phillip and Roderick Taypaywaykejick were running away from St. Mary’s Indian Residential School on the outskirts of Kenora. They were from Grassy Narrows, more than 85km away.

St. Mary’s residential school is more residence than school. Most of the children, except those in early primary grades, were being bused to local classrooms in Kenora, then returned to campus for supper and bedtime.

The Mohawk Institute Residential School closes.

12-year-old Roderick Taypaywaykejick is found dead a few hundred metres farther then Phillip Swain. The children had run away from residential school together. His father, James Keesick, is part of the search and rescue team that finds his son.

Dr. Peter D. Pan, the same pathologist who analyzed Chanie Wenjack’s body, performs a post-mortem exam on Roderick and Bean. Both boys weighed 80 pounds and were under five feet tall. Beside the heading “Stomach and Contents,” both reports contain the same word: Empty.

Local coroner, Dr. S.M. Burris, issues a warrant for an inquest. “I have concluded that an inquest should be held to determine if there was negligence in these deaths.”

Construction starts on Otonabee College at Trent University. A group of student leaders that would later become the Indigenous Studies department lobbied tirelessly for the college to be named in Chanie’s honour. The students saw this dedication as an opportunity for Trent to strengthen its Indigenous Studies program, and establish itself as a force for change, hope, and a positive educational experience. The campaign spearheaded by the student leaders led to the naming of Trent’s largest lecture hall as the Chanie Wenjack Theatre.

The education system sees an increase in the number of Indigenous employees. Over 34 per cent of staff members have Indian status. This comes after the federal government gives control of the Indian education program to band councils and education committees within each community.

A provincial Task Force on the Educational Needs of Native Peoples hears recommendations from Indigenous representatives to increase language and cultural programs and improve funding for internal control of education. A Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development publication reports that 174 federal and 34 provincial schools offer language programs in 23 Indigenous languages.

12 to 15 residential schools are still operating in Canada, with an estimated 1,200 children attending. The Department of Indian Affairs has evaluated the schools and created a series of initiatives. Among them was a plan to make the school administration more culturally aware of the needs of Indigenous students.

Métis were included as a distinct Indigenous people in the Canadian constitution. They are defined as an ethnic group with their own culture, distinct from First Nations and Inuit.

The United Church of Canada formally apologizes to First Nations people.

Non-Indigenous orphans at Mount Cashel Orphanage in Newfoundland make allegations of sexual abuse by Christian Brothers at the school. The case paves the way for litigation for residential school victims.

Phil Fontaine, leader of the Association of Manitoba Chiefs, meets with representatives of the Catholic Church. He demands that the church acknowledge the physical and sexual abuse suffered by students at residential schools.

North of 60 premieres on CBC. The show explored themes of Indigenous poverty, alcoholism, cultural preservation, residential schools, conflict over land settlements, and natural resource exploitation. Originally somewhat light-hearted, it quickly became a more poignant and dramatic series. For many Canadians, this is the first mention of residential schools in society or popular culture.

The Anglican Church offers a formal apology to First Nations people in Canada.

The final Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is released. It recommends a public investigation into the violence and abuse at residential schools and brings the experiences of Survivors to national attention.

The 4,000-page document makes 440 recommendations calling for changes in the relationship between Indigenous, non-Indigenous, and government sectors in Canada.

Oxford University Press publishes the history textbook, Spotlight Canada Third Edition. On page 145, the following quote appears: “The practice of placing Native children in residential schools continued into the 1980s.” Residential schools are mentioned four times in the entire book and are used in the past tense.

The Gordon Residential School, the last federally run facility, closes in Saskatchewan.

Phil Fontaine is elected National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a political organization representing First Nations governments and their citizens.

The Government of Canada announces Gathering Strength: Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan, a long-term, broad-based policy approach in response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. The Plan includes the establishment of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and a Statement of Reconciliation. The Statement of Reconciliation: Learning from the Past, in which the Government of Canada recognizes and apologizes to those who experienced physical and sexual abuse at Indian residential schools and acknowledges its role in the development and administration of residential schools.

St. Michael’s Indian Residential School, the last band-run school, closes.

The United Church’s General Council Executive offers a second apology to the First Nations peoples of Canada for the abuse incurred at residential schools. The litigation list naming the Government of Canada and major Church denominations grows to 7,500.

The Canadian government begins negotiations with the Anglican, Catholic, United, and Presbyterian churches to design a compensation plan. By October, the government agrees to pay 70 percent of settlement to former students with validated claims. By December, the Anglican Diocese of Cariboo in British Columbia declares bankruptcy, saying it can no longer pay claims related to residential school lawsuits.

Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada was created as a separate department with the mandate to address the legacy of Indian Residential Schools and to manage and resolve claims.

Presbyterian Church settles residential schools compensation. It is the second of four churches involved in running residential schools that has initialed an agreement-in-principle with the federal government to share compensation for former students claiming sexual and physical abuse.

Ralph Goodale, the minister responsible for residential schools resolution, and leaders of the Anglican Church from across Canada ratify an agreement to compensate victims with valid claims of sexual and physical abuse at Anglican-run residential schools. Together, they agree the Canadian government will pay 70 percent of the compensation and the Anglican Church of Canada will pay 30 percent, to a maximum of $25 million.

The Government of Canada launches the National Resolution Framework, which includes a litigation strategy, health supports, a Commemoration program, and an Alternative Dispute Resolution process.

The Government of Canada appoints the Honourable Frank Iacobucci to work with legal counsel for former students, legal counsel for churches, and other representatives of former students, including the Assembly of First Nations and other Indigenous organizations, to conclude an agreement that would address not only cases of abuse but also the broader harms arising from the Indian Residential School experience.

The Government of Canada launches an advance payment program for “all eligible former students of Indian Residential Schools” students who were 65 years of age or older.

The Supreme Court of Canada rules that the federal government cannot be held fully liable for damages suffered by students abused at a church-run school on Vancouver Island. The United Church carried out most of the day-to-day operations at Port Alberni Indian Residential School, where six Indigenous students claimed they were abused by a dormitory supervisor from the 1940s to the 1960s. The court ruled the church was responsible for 24 percent of the liability.

Ottawa announces a $1.9-billion compensation package for those who were forced to attend residential schools called the Common Experience Payment. It includes an initial payout for each person who attended a residential school of $10,000 for the first year they attended, plus $3,000 per subsequent year. Approximately 86,000 people are eligible for compensation.

The $2-billion compensation package for Survivors who were forced to attend residential schools is approved by the Nunavut Court of Justice, the eighth of nine courts that must give it the nod before it goes ahead. A court in the Northwest Territories is the last to give approval in January 2007.

However, the class-action deal — one of the most complicated in Canadian history — was effectively settled by Dec. 15, 2006, when documents were released that said the deal had been approved by seven courts: in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon. The average payout is expected to be in the vicinity of $25,000. Those who suffered physical or sexual abuse may be entitled to settlements up to $275,000. Students who attended day schools are not included in the settlement.

The Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was approved by all parties. It is the largest class action settlement in Canadian history.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement received approval from nine courts across Canada. This launched a five month opt-out period in which former students could choose to reject the IRSSA.

Launch of the Advocacy and Public Information program.

Implementation of the IRSSA begins.

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announces that Justice Harry LaForme, a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation in southern Ontario, will chair the commission that Ottawa promised as part of the settlement with former students of residential schools. At the ceremony, LaForme paid homage to the estimated 90,000 living Survivors of residential schools. “Your pain, your courage, your perseverance, and your profound commitment to truth made this commission a reality,” he said.

Justice Harry Laforme was appointed Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Morley were appointed as Commissioners. Justice Laforme resigned on October 20, 2008, and the remaining Commissioners resigned effective June 1, 2009.

Chanie’s story inspires painting Little Charlie Wenjack’s Escape from Residential School by Anishinaabe artist Roy Kakegamic.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes to former students of residential schools, marking the first formal apology by a prime minister for the federally financed program. “The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history,” he says in a speech in the House of Commons.

Two of three commissioners on the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Brewin Morley, announce that they will step down effective June 1.

Pope Benedict XVI expresses “sorrow” to a delegation from Canada’s Assembly of First Nations for the abuse and “deplorable” treatment that Aboriginal students suffered at Catholic church-run residential schools. Assembly of First Nations Leader Phil Fontaine says it doesn’t amount to an official apology but hopes it will “close the book” on the issue of apologies.

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announces the appointment of Justice Murray Sinclair as Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Marie Wilson, a senior executive with the N.W.T. Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission, and Wilton Littlechild, Alberta Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations, are also appointed commissioners.

Justice Murray Sinclair says he’ll have to work hard to restore the commission’s credibility. Sinclair says people lost some faith in the commission after infighting forced the resignation of the former chairman and commissioners.

Governor General Michaelle Jean re-launched the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Canada’s residential schools commission is settling into its new home — and name — in Winnipeg. New chief commissioner Justice Murray Sinclair recently moved the headquarters of the commission from Ottawa to Winnipeg. The commission has also changed its name from the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).

Investigations into cases of students who died or went missing while attending Canada’s residential schools are a priority for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, says the group’s new research director.

Survivors of abuse at residential schools are fearing the end of federal funding on March 31 for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, a nationwide network of community-based healing initiatives. The federal government did not renew its funding for the foundation (AHF), which serves 134 community-based healing programs.

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission officially opens its headquarters in Winnipeg, two years after it was first created.

Thousands of residential school survivors meet in Winnipeg for the first national event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission holds its first national event in Winnipeg, Manitoba. At this event, Canada announces its intent to repeal those sections of the Indian Act that allowed for the establishment of Indian Residential Schools and the removal of children from their homes and communities.

The Government of Canada apologizes to the Inuit families who were forcibly relocated to the High Arctic.

The Government of Canada announces it will endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a non-binding document that describes the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples around the world. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission hails the decision as a step towards making amends.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission jointly launch a $20 million commemoration initiative, which provided former students, their families and communities the opportunity to pay tribute to their experiences by acknowledging the impacts of the residential school system.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins three months of hearings in 19 northern communities in the lead up to its second national event, which will be held in Inuvik, N.W.T. between June 28 and July 1.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosts its second national event in Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosts its third national event in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Minister Duncan announces that the Government of Canada will commemorate the legacy of residential schools through a permanent installation of stained glass artwork in Centre Block on Parliament Hill.

A historic Crown-First Nations Gathering is held, building on the Canada-First Nations Joint Action Plan.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosts its fourth national event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Dedication of the stained glass window commemorating the legacy of residential schools. The window was installed directly above the west door of Centre Block where Members of Parliament enter.

Idle No More begins – founded by three Indigenous women and one non-Indigenous woman mainly in response to the passing of Canada’s Bill C-45 which eliminated many of the state’s environmental laws and opened up Indigenous lands to development.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosts its fifth national event in Montreal, Québec.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosts its sixth national event in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosts its final national event in Edmonton, Alberta.

A monument to honour the Survivors of residential schools is unveiled in Winnipeg near the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission releases the summary of its final report on the residential school system and the experiences of its survivors, characterizing Canada’s treatment of Aboriginal people as “cultural genocide.” The report put forward 94 Calls to Action aimed at repairing relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada—relations that have suffered deeply from the legacy of more than a century of assimilationist policies and human rights violations.

Fresh water scientist Patricia Sellers finds mercury levels still rising in some nearby lakes. Japanese researchers determined that more than 90 per cent of the populations of Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations show signs of poisoning.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, a permanent archive of materials, documents, and testimonies on residential schools gathered during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, opens at the University of Manitoba. Both the centre and the commission were created by the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission releases Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future, its final report on the residential school system and the experiences of its Survivors. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended the ceremonial release of the report, committed his government to implementing all of the 94 Calls to Action set out in the June 2015 summary report.

An inquest begins into seven First Nations high school students who died while attending school in Thunder Bay, Ontario between 2000 and 2011. Among the 145 recommendations for preventing the deaths of other students, the jury said that all First Nations should have high schools of their own.

Together with the Wenjack family, Gord and Mike Downie create the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. The organization operates as a project under Tides Canada Initiatives and the Toronto Foundation.