Residential Schools and Reconciliation
Primary Documents
- Kamloops Indian Residential School
- The little boys' dormitory at the Coqualeetza Residential School, Sardis.
Where to Begin Your Own Research
If you are looking for information specific to British Columbia, the first location to check is the Royal BC Museum and Archives online catalogue. New information is always being added, providing ever-growing access to archival materials from your own home.
Outside Links
These links will take you away from the Learning Portal. Come back soon!
The Canadian Museum for Human Right’s resource about residential schools includes links to books and videos about the topic.
Use this CBC interactive map to see where residential schools were in Canada.
Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held that was held in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in the spring of 2013. It has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually.
The Indian Residential School Survivor Society has a toll free phone number, a 24 hour crisis line and other resources for survivors of Indian residential schools.
Project of Heart: Illuminating the hidden history of Indian Residential Schools in BC. From the BC Teachers’ Federation: Educating for truth and reconciliation.
Legacy of Hope provides resources, lessons, ideas and online exhibitions focused on Canada’s century-long Indian residential school system. They support healing and reconciliation in the classroom, in communities and across the country.
The First Nations Education Steering Committee provides classroom resources and other materials related to truth and reconciliation.
Read the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada on the commission’s official website and learn more about the TRC.
This summary of residential schools and the cause and consequences of this school system was created by the First Nations Studies Program at the University of British Columbia.
This website has an interactive timeline of the political events and the events of residential schools, as well as over 40 videos of survivor’s stories.
This Government of Canada website, with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, addresses residential schools and what the Canadian government has done to mend ties with Canada’s First peoples.
This website was developed by the United Church of Canada Archives. It gives detailed histories of several Indian residential schools in Canada.