Canada formally apologises to indigenous peoples
Updated
![Canadian PM Harper (R) and chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, walk into parliament where Harper officially apologised to indigenous peoples. [AFP]](http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/img/news/gallery/canada_harper_sorry_afp_08.jpg "Canadian PM Harper (R) and chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, walk into parliament where Harper officially apologised to indigenous peoples. [AFP]")
Canadian PM Harper (R) and chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, walk into parliament where Harper officially apologised to indigenous peoples. [AFP]
Canada has apologised to its native people.
The prime minister, Stephen Harper, rose in the Canadian parliament and apologised for the abuses suffered by native people who attended residential schools from the late 1800s to the 1970s
Prime Minister Harper said it was a sad chapter in Canada's history, and today he added "we recognize that the policy of assimilation was wrong, caused great harm, and has no place in our country".
The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine - himself a former residential school student - also spoke, saying the occasion testified nothing less than the accomplishment of the impossible.
Up to 150,000 native children were forced to attend the schools to be assimilated into white culture.
Thousands were physically, sexually and emotionally abused.
Across the country, native people watched the events, some applauded, and there were tears.
But for many former students, there was silence.
