We welcome you to the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.

The records on our site emerge from the cultural and physical genocide that the Canadian government and churches conducted through the Indian Residential School System, including the ongoing impacts.

Bearing witness to these records may become overwhelming. If you are a Survivor or an Intergenerational Survivor and would like support, you can call the 24-hour National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at:

1-866-925-4419

Please click the button below for other cultural and mental health resources.

Wellness Resources
Bill : an act to encourage the gradual civilization of Indian tribes in this province, and to amend the laws relating to Indians
Bill - an act to encourage the gradual civilization of Indian Tribes

Gradual Civilization Act

1857
Description
The Act to Encourage the Gradual Civilization of the Indian Tribes of the Province was introduced to the parliament of Upper and Lower Canada by John A. Macdonald. The Act sought to assimilate Indigenous people by encouraging them to adopt European values. It included plans for enfranchisement and the extinguishment of Indigenous land rights by converting Indigenous peoples to a system of private property ownership. Under this Act, Indigenous men who gave up their treaty rights were eligible to own property, vote, and hold other rights of full citizenship.

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