ABSTRACT
The crime of genocide, the forcible transferring of Indigenous Peoples' children into colonial residential institutions continues unrelenting and without redress in international law. This chapter reviews the drafting of the crime of genocide in international law from an Indigenous Peoples standpoint, and reveals the domination of state interests and the exclusion of the Indigenous experience of 'cultural genocide' or 'forced assimilation'. The residential school system was designed by the government of Canada to civilise or 'absorb' Indigenous Peoples' children into Canadian society or the colonial 'body politic'. The mandate to civilise is evidenced in colonial laws and policy statements by government officials. The Travaux Preparatoires details the discussions and debates among states at the United Nations. The 'colonial clause' was a significant discussion during the drafting of the crime. On the concept of cultural genocide, the Ukraine stated: It was generally recognized that genocide is aimed at the extermination of a group of people.
