IntroductionThe overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian child welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue, rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent of forcing the assimilation of Aboriginal Canadians into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). The lives of many Aboriginal children have been negatively changed by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that registered First Nations Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare services across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). As a result, this has had a negative impact on Aboriginal communities' experience and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is evident that the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of Canada's Indian Residential Schools policy, which will be described in this article. Residential schools have undoubtedly created harmful intergenerational consequences. The dark legacy of residential schools has had a lasting impact, reaching every new generation, and has led to countless problems within Aboriginal families, including: chemical dependency, a cycle of abuse in families, dysfunctional families, crime and incarceration , depression, pain, suicide. and issues of cultural identity (McFarlan, 2000, p. 13). Therefore, the intergenerational consequence… middle of paper… that in those years were cared for outside the home were Aboriginal, but Aboriginal children constituted less than 5% of the total child population in Canada (Brown et al., 2005). ” The number of First Nations children from reserves placed in out-of-home care grew rapidly between 1995 and 2001, increasing by 71.5% (Brown et al., 2005). In Manitoba, Aboriginal children made up nearly 80% of children living in out-of-home care in 2000 (Brown et al., 2005). These staggering numbers are the reason researchers and advocates accuse residential schools of being the main historical culprits in today's phenomenon of the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system. The following sections will highlight how residential schools have shaped the child welfare system in Canada today, helping to explain the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system..