The BC Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Summit and Union of BC Indian Chiefs, together with BC Chiefs present at the Assembly of First Nations 34th Annual General Assembly in Whitehorse, Yukon, are deeply upset by the horrifically distressing research that has surfaced recently regarding historic human biomedical experimentation on malnourished Aboriginal communities and children attending Indian residential schools in Canada.
A recent research paper by Ian Mosley titled, “Administering Colonial Science: Nutrition Research and Human Biomedical Experimentation in Aboriginal Communities and Residential Schools, 1942–1952,” has been the subject of considerable media attention over the past few days. In his recently published research findings, Mosby, with the Department of History at the University of Guelph, details a series of nutritional studies of Aboriginal communities and residential schools between the years of 1942 and 1952, conducted by nutrition experts, in cooperation with the Canadian government.
“Our citizens and our communities are still coming to terms with the residential schools legacy and the Mosby research is another painful reminder of these experiences and the ways our people suffered at the hands of the government; in this case being subjected to human experimentation we never consented to,” stated BC Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould. She added, “Yesterday morning, Chiefs and leaders from across BC came together at the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly and unanimously condemned the past actions of the Crown in condoning human biomedical experimentation on our peoples and in particular our children who attended Indian residential schools. The Report is further evidence for the ongoing need for healing and the important role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as the necessity to support our Nations’ work in moving beyond our debilitating colonial period,” she finished.