Canada's indigenous peoples seek papal apology
STORY: Pope Francis met for about an hour each with representatives of the Métis and Inuit nations, the first of four meetings this week with Canada's native peoples in what both sides have called a process of healing and reconciliation.
The stated aim of the schools was to assimilate indigenous children. They operated between 1831 and 1996 and were run by several Christian denominations on behalf of the government, most by the Catholic Church.
About 150,000 children were taken from their homes. Many were subjected to abuse, rape and malnutrition in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 called "cultural genocide".
Records are held in Canada, in archives of religious orders, and possibly in archives of the Vatican's missionary department.
