Though there was a system of schooling in place before, the 1880's is when the first offical residential Schools opened. These schools operated on the notion that the Indigenous people could be "civilized" if they were taken young and indoctrinated into Western Culture. The children were forced t oforgo their own culture, rituals and language and were severely punished for any deviance. They were poorly educated and often malnourished. Physical and sexual abuse is documented to have occurred regularly. Thousands of children died while attending residential schools and records were so badly kept that the names and locations of the children's burial site is often lost. Enire mass graves were lost. (TRCC, 2015)