PM Harper Makes Historic Apology to Native Peoples

Earlier today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the government's policy that forced their children to attend state-funded schools for the purposes of assimilation. Starting in the 19th century and lasting into the 1970s, more than 150,000 children were required to attend state-funded Christian schools where many of them were physically and/or sexually abused.

Several months ago, Australia's PM Kevin Rudd apologized to the so-called Stolen Generations, thousands of Aborigines who were uprooted from their families between 1910 and 1970 as part of Australia's assimilation policy. Canada, however, will be offering compensation to those who were taken, for the years they spent at state schools. The offer comes from a lawsuit settlement.

Today Canada is home to more than 1 million native peoples and there are more than 80,000 surviving students.