Inside Canada's residential school system

Boys pray on bunk beds in a dormitory at the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada in 1950. Between 1831 and 1996, Canada's residential school system forcibly separated...more

Girls attend a first communion ceremony at the Spanish Indian Residential School in Spanish, Ontario, Canada in 1955. The Tk'emlúps te Secwe´pemc indigenous nation in British Columbia announced last week it had found the remains of 215 children, some...more

Boys receive haircuts at the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1960s. Run by the government and church groups, most of them Catholic, the schools' stated aim was to assimilate indigenous children....more

Students sit in a classroom at All Saints Residential School in Lac la Ronge, Saskatchewan, Canada circa 1950. There have long been rumors within indigenous communities, also discussed by the commission, of children buried at these schools. The...more

Students sit in a classroom at St Joseph's Convent, otherwise known as the Fort Resolution Indian Residential School in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories in an undated archive photo. A Canadian policy of forcibly separating aboriginal children...more

The Kuper Island Indian Residential School is seen on Penelakut Island, British Columbia, June 19, 1941. Canada. Dept. of Indian and Northern Affairs/Library and Archives Canada/e011080322/Handout via REUTERS

A teacher reads to students at a residential school in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada circa 1950. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Nurse Desrochers checks a girl's throat while other children wait in line, at the Frobish Bay Federal Hostel in Iqaluit, Nunavut in 1959. H. Leclair/Health and Welfare Canada collection/Library and Archives Canada/e002504641/Handout via Reuters

Students pose in front of the Chooutla Indian Residential School, a residential school in the Carcross/Tagish First Nation community of Carcross, Yukon Territories, Canada in 1921. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Sisters from the Soeurs du Sacre-Coeur d'Ottawa pose with students at the Pukatawagan Residential School, in Pukatawagan, Manitoba in 1960. Sister Liliane/Library and Archives Canada/PA-195120/Handout via Reuters

Girls sit on beds in a dormitory at the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario in 1960. Department of Citizenship and Immigration-Information Division/Library and Archives Canada/PA-185528/handout via Reuters

A group of female students and a nun pose in a classroom at Cross Lake Indian Residential School in Cross Lake, Manitoba in a February 1940 archive photo.  REUTERS/Dept. Indian and Northern Affairs/Library and Archives Canada/e011080274/Handout via...more

Children hold letters that spell "Goodbye" at Fort Simpson Indian Residential School, in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories in 1922. J.F. Moran/Library and Archives Canada/PA-102575/Handout via Reuters

Students in costumes attend a pageant at the Spanish Indian Residential School in Spanish, Ontario, Canada in 1954. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Girls pose during a pageant at the Spanish Indian Residential School in Spanish, Ontario, Canada in 1954. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Boys play table hockey at the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1960s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Shinwauk Guides form a circle during the visit of the commissioner to the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1951. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Students taking part in a first communion ceremony pose at the Spanish Indian Residential School in Spanish, Ontario, Canada circa 1960s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Boys pose on a field at the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1960s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Students attending the Shingwauk Indian Residential School use handmade bows in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada in 1960. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Senior girl students pose outside the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1960s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Senior girl students sit on swings behind the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada in 1960. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Boys stack wood at the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada circa 1930s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

A group of children arrive from Rupert House/Waskaganish at the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada circa 1940s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via...more

Boys play the Crokinole board game at the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1947. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Children attending the Shingwauk Indian Residential School eat supper during outdoor activities in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1947. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Students pose at All Saints Indian Residential School in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada circa 1940. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

A boy attending the Shingwauk Indian Residential School poses in his best Sunday outfit in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada circa 1947. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

A group of students take part in sewing class at St Joseph's Convent, otherwise known as the Fort Resolution Indian Residential School in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories in an undated archive photo. Canada. Dept. of Mines and Technical...more

Children play on swings at the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada circa 1940s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

The junior girls pose before bedtime at the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada circa 1940s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Girls work in the kitchen at the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada circa 1940. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Students are seated at their desks in a classroom at the  Eskimo Point Federal Hostel in Arviat, Nunavut in an undated photo. D.B. Marsh/Library and Archives Canada/e007914491/Handout via Reuters

Girls pose at the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada in 1947. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Students attending the Metlakatla Indian Residential School pose in Metlakatla, British Columbia in an undated photo. William James Topley/Library and Archives Canada/C-015037/Handout via Reuters

Girls play hopscotch outside the Bishop Horden Memorial School, a residential school in the indigenous Cree community of Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada in 1947. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre/Handout via REUTERS

Female students pose for a class portrait at St. Anthony's Indian Residential School in Onion Lake, Saskatchewan in a 1950 photo. Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs and Northern Development/Library and Archives Canada/PA-202480/Handout via Reuters

Students assemble in formal attire outside the Fort Resolution Indian Residential School in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories in a 1928 photo. J.F. Moran/Library and Archives Canada/PA-102519/Handout via Reuters