What was the residential school system? When did it operate? According to Prime Minister Paul Martin, how did the schools attempt to commit "cultural genocide" (202)?
a) The residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous children in Canada and the United States, operated primarily by churches and the government. It operated from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.
b) According to Prime Minister Paul Martin, the schools attempted to commit "cultural genocide" by forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families and communities, prohibiting them from speaking their native languages, and imposing Eurocentric cultural practices and religious beliefs.