What was the outcome for First Nations children under the assimilation policy?

• A. They were kept with families.
• B. They were forced to attend residential schools.
• C. They were educated at home.
• D. They were sent to foreign exchange programs.

Answer: (B)

Assimilation policy aimed to absorb First Nations into Canadian society by erasing Indigenous languages, cultures, and social structures. For children, the main tool was removal from their families and placement in residential schools run by churches and funded by the government. The expectation was that living and studying in a Western, Christian environment would detach them from their Indigenous identities and communities. Because of that, the expected outcome for First Nations children was that they were forced to attend residential schools, often away from home, underRigid rules that suppressed their languages and customs. The other options don’t fit because this policy did not keep children with their families, did not educate them at home under this approach, and did not involve sending them abroad in foreign exchange programs.