A National Crime

In 1904, Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce, a prominent physician, documented the appalling health conditions of children in residential schools. He found overcrowded rooms with 98 children in a space meant for 25.

Duncan Campbell Scott, the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, toured residential schools in Western Canada. Despite reports of hundreds, even thousands, of deaths, he dismissed concerns. Scott, a poet and bureaucrat, crafted policies aimed at the erasure of Indigenous cultures.

Dr. Bryce's reports, embedded with humanitarian concerns, were ignored by Scott. The schools suffered from abysmal ventilation, sanitation, and a complete lack of proper medical care. Students were denied adequate exercise, and illnesses were met with prayer rather than medical intervention. Scott's policies actively prevented medical officers from intervening, even against diseases like tuberculosis.

Bryce found that children in these schools were dying at a rate of 25% per year, and in one school, 67% of students died. The conditions were so dangerous that it led to a much higher death rate than in their home villages, which was geared towards a 'final solution of our Indian problem'.

The voice of the Canadian public was not strong enough to force the government to change. The video concludes with a powerful statement that justice must come before reconciliation.