The Assimilation of Aboriginal Canadians“Killing the Indian in the Child” was the primary goal of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the creation of residential schools in the 1880s, attendance at these educational facilities became an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was only after the government's long attempts to annihilate the Canadian aborigines that residential schools became the new solution to the "Indian problem" in 1920. (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, approximately one hundred and fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and communities to free them from any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities risked arrest (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the arrival of Aboriginal children in residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government's attempt to assimilate these children into the predominantly white religion, Christianity, and move them into moderate society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closure of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with a lasting and negative intergenerational impact (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Aboriginal people have lost their identity, are affected economically and suffer socially as a result of their experiences. For starters, once the assimilation policy came into effect, Aboriginal people were subjected to a new environment, resulting in the loss of their culture. It is for this reason that the suicide rate of First Na...... half of the paper ......ling Gregory. “Aboriginal resilience and the legacy of residential schools. Ottawa: Aboriginal Healing Foundation, 2003. Print. “Infographic: Aboriginal Poverty”. Why poverty? TVO. Network. July 16, 2014. "The History of Indian Residential Schools and the Church's Apologies." The United Church of Canada. June 4, 2007. Web. July 17, 2014. .“What is a residential school?” CBC News. 16 May 2008. Web. 16 July 2014. .Why am I poor? First Nations child poverty in Ontario. Canada: Best Start Resource Center, 2012. Web. “The Purpose of Residential Schools.” Residential schools. Network. July 14, 2014. .