I remember, about 25 years ago, sitting at lunch with a highly respected First Nations jurist in BC, and him telling me how much he appreciated what the nuns at a Catholic Residential school had given him. Just sayin'. Of course there were decent people teaching in those schools, along with the sadists, and there were students who got a basic education that made it possible for them to advance in the professional world.  Was a lot of damage done?  Definitely.  Would there have been a much better way to achieve this? Doubtless, but we haven't come up with the solution yet.