Canadian government-funded residential schools, operated largely by churches, forcibly removed Indigenous children and prohibited them from speaking their native languages, enforcing English or French to promote assimilation. This long-running policy aimed to eradicate cultural ties, severing intergenerational language transmission across diverse First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. It exemplified settler colonial strategies to reshape linguistic landscapes for national integration.

The suppression led to profound language loss but inspired contemporary Indigenous poets like Louise Halfe and Jordan Abel to reclaim and revitalize voices through experimental forms blending English with ancestral elements. It fueled literary movements addressing trauma and resilience, enriching Canadian poetry with themes of cultural survival and linguistic hybridity.