Arte recounts Tuesday evening in a documentary a part of Canadian history still little known in France, that of the acculturation of indigenous peoples.

Until the 1990s, thousands of children from these populations were torn from their families by the Canadian government to make them forget their family and their culture.

It is a strong film, which tackles a subject little known in France, but very present and very heavy in Canada, that Arte broadcasts on Tuesday evening.

With the documentary 

Killing the Indian in the Heart of the Child

, the channel explores the subject of the acculturation of indigenous peoples, also described as "cultural genocide".

It lasted a little over a century, until the 1990s. During this period, tens of thousands of children were torn from their families and placed in residential schools where the Canadian government tried to make them forget their family. culture.

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These children have since grown up.

Some testify in this film.

They confide in particular the rapes and abuses that the priests subjected them to.

The subject is still very sensitive in Canada, and it is very difficult to talk about it, according to the director of the documentary Gwenlaouen Le Gouil.

A population kept on the margins

"Canada as we know it is a very young country, it was formed barely more than a century ago," he recalls at the microphone of Europe 1. "So Canadians have all grandparents and great-grandparents who participated in this colonization and in this policy which wanted to make the Amerindians a class apart.One can easily understand that the taboo is very, very strong and that the feeling of shame is very present among Canadians today. "

It was not until 2015 that the Canadian state apologized.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did it.

But it did not really change the lives of the natives, often on the margins of society.

Thousands of them roam the streets of major Canadian cities, some of whom are alcoholics or addicted to opioids.

"When a Native American body is found, there is no police investigation"

Another historical stigma: there are still many more murders of Native American women today than there are murders of white women.

A revolting reality that begins to arouse a mobilization, carried by the Me Too movement.

"There is real awareness, with a movement that demands rights, but above all justice for these women," observes director Gwenlaouen Le Gouil.

"The problem is, when a Native American goes missing (and it happens every week), when a Native American body is found, there is no police investigation. Or she concludes that she died suddenly. without explanation, even if the body shows signs of violence. "

The documentary

Killing the Indian in the heart of the child

 is to be seen on Arte Tuesday evening at 10:15 pm.

It is already available on the Arte.tv platform.