Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop

Under the residential school system, at least 150,000 Indigenous children were removed from their families and placed into a system in which they experienced not only separation from family and community but also physical, sexual and psychological abuse. Students were denied access to their culture and prevented from speaking their language. The results were a catastrophic loss of culture, language, family and, in some cases, lives. In 2006, an agreement was reached to provide compensation to survivors of the residential school system. A later settlement agreement provides compensation for those who attended Federal Indian Day Schools.

As a part of the 2006 settlement agreement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established to hear, record and honour the stories of survivors. You can find out more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and read the final reports and recommendations at the Commission's website at nctr.ca. If you are a survivor, the Commission also provides ways for you to continue to share your story and to access your residential school records.

While some Métis people were included in the 2006 settlement agreement, others were excluded due to a lack of record-keeping or a lack of recognition of some schools as Indian Residential Schools. In 2022, survivors of the Île-à-la-Crosse Residential School started a class action against Canada and Saskatchewan for the harms and abuses suffered by students at that school. In 2025, the Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan agreed to provide compensation to those who had attended the school.

Under the sixties scoop system and child protection laws and policies at the time, some 20,000 Indigenous children were removed from their families and placed into non-Indigenous homes, once again away from family, culture, language and identity. This occurred through the 1960s, 70s and 80s. In 2017, an agreement was reached with the Canadian government to provide compensation to First Nation (status) and Inuit survivors of the sixties scoop system. A class action related to non-status and Métis survivors is ongoing. You can read more about that class action here.