WINNIPEG -- Two former residential schools, one in Manitoba and one Nova Scotia are becoming national historic sites as the federal government looks to recognize the impact they had on Indigenous lives.

Along with the site designations, the federal government is cementing residential schools in Canada's history.

"From this day forward, the residential school system will be designated as an event of national historic significance, which will help to educate all Canadians on the system and its consequences and ensure that this part of our history is never forgotten or repeated," said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, who is also responsible for historic sites and monuments.

MANITOBA RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL

The two buildings are the first residential schools to receive historic designations.

Located near Portage La Prairie, Man, the Manitoba school is located on Long Plain First Nation.

The former Portage La Prairie residential school now houses a small museum.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, on the University of Manitoba campus, is commending the move to make it a historic site.

"Today's designation is an important tool for all Canadians to learn about the cultural genocide that took place," said Ry Moran, director of the NCTR, in a statement. "At least 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were taken away from their homes and their families."

"Only by understanding the past, can we walk on the path towards justice, an essential element of truth and reconciliation," he said

Eugene Arcand, chair of the NCTR governing circle, witnessed the effects firsthand as a residential school survivor.

"Having places where Residential School Survivors can be honoured, the children remembered, and the past acknowledged is a crucial part of reconciliation," Arcand said in a statement. "Sites are essential to highlight to Canadians one of many reasons that First Nations, Métis and Inuit people are in the state we are in today, and to share our dreams to overcome our current challenges for a better future for everyone."

The schools, which ran from the 1870s to the 1990s, join a list of 491 other significant Canadian historical events.

Grand Chief Garrison Settee of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. hopes the acknowledgment pushes Canadians to explore the darker side of Canadian history.

"This historical announcement should help encourage newcomers and Canadian citizens of all ages and backgrounds to learn about and remember both those who survived residential schools and those who perished as a result of attending those schools," he said in a statement. "The residential school system is a dark part of Canada's history and it's one that must not be forgotten. We must learn from past mistakes to ensure they are never again made in the future."

Settee noted that there's still a lot of work and healing that needs to be done from the residential school system.