Residential Schools: Part 01 Foundations of a System of Erasure

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In the first episode of our six-part series, Valerie and Ali begin an unflinching exploration of Canada’s residential school system—its origins, intentions, and the roots of a policy designed to erase Indigenous identities and cultures.

Foundations of a System of Erasure traces the early colonial and missionary efforts that laid the groundwork for residential schools, from the 1600s through the 1800s. We examine how government and church authorities partnered to create a network of institutions aimed at forced assimilation, justified through racist ideologies and imperial ambitions.

This episode sets the stage for understanding how these schools became a central tool of cultural genocide in Canada, and why reckoning with their history is essential for truth and reconciliation today.

Join us as we uncover the policies, motivations, and beliefs that built a system meant not to educate, but to erase.

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Edited by Kyle McDonnell