Indian Boarding Homes Program in Canada | The Nisga’a Nation B.C.

 

Article by Jackson Pind | Published September 10, 2024

The Indian Boarding Homes Program was established by the Canadian federal government and operated from the early 1950s to the early 1990s.  Its purpose was to relocate Indigenous children into non-Indigenous homes while they attended elementary and high schools, often far from their home communities. Relocation was compulsory; refusal was not permitted.  The host families with whom they were placed were paid to provide care.   Many children in this situation faced physical, sexual, verbal and psychological abuse (see also Child Abuse).  The program was designed to assimilate Indigenous children into the mainstream Canadian society.  As a result, children were often forbidden from speaking their native language or engaging in practices of their culture.  This led, inevitably, to significant consequences that included loss of cultural identity and connection to their communities for the approximately 40,000 First Nations and Inuit children who were forced to relocate.

Reginald Percival’s Experience

One of the survivors and plaintiffs of a recent class action lawsuit, Reginald Percival, recalls being taken from his home in the Nisga’a Nation** in northern British Columbia at the age of 13.  He was placed 1,300 kilometers away with a non-Indigenous family in southern BC, where he endured significant abuse.  He remembers being taken away, with other students, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  His mother was crying, and he recalled it feeling “like a funeral.” Percival remembers that “I was slapped around, locked in rooms… I once spent 10 days in a closet. It is not a good memory for me.”  His story highlights the broader experiences of many Indigenous children who were part of this program.

Many children in boarding homes were subjected to starvation, forced to work as free labour and prohibited from practicing their culture.  Percival said, “We were told that to be good Indian, you have to forget about your culture.” They often had minimal or no contact with their families.  Other forms of abuse including sexual or physical occurred within these households.  When Percival returned home, he felt ostracized from his family.

Legal Actions and Settlement

In 2018, a class action lawsuit was initiated by survivors of the Boarding Homes Program, including Reginald Percival. They sought justice and compensation for the abuses they suffered.  This lawsuit culminated in a $1.9 billion settlement agreement approved by the Federal Court in 2023 for Indigenous people who were part of the program between 1951 and 1992.  The settlement covers approximately 33,000 eligible survivors, providing compensation ranging from $10,000 to $200,000 based on the level of abuse experienced.  The settlement offers a two-tier compensation system:

Category 1: A base payment of $10,000 to all class members.

Category 2: Additional compensation based on the severity of abuse, up to $200,000.

The claims process was designed to be non-adversarial, conducted entirely on paper to avoid re-traumatizing survivors.  There was no cap on the total compensation amount, ensuring that all eligible survivors could receive their compensation.  The designated timeframe for survivors to submit claims was set for 21 August 2024 to 22 February 2027.  The class counsel, Douglas Lennox, noted the importance of this process compared to other settlements.  He said, “We found with some other settlements, like day schools, people felt pressure to get a claim in quickly — financial pressure, emotional pressure — and they put in a lower-level claim. And later on, many claimants seem to have regretted that decision.”

The settlement included the voices of 12 different survivors from across the country. The judge agreed they had similar stories of abuse and mistreatment while being part of the program.  Justice Peter Pamel stated, “I must say that the trembling of their voices as they recounted their stories was palpable, and the trauma reflected in their eyes as they relived their experiences was truly overwhelming; these are stories that all Canadians should hear.” In particular, the settlement also found:

A vast number of boarding home survivors did not complete high school because of the extensive abuse they suffered, leaving them with permanent emotional scars. When many finally did try to return to their communities, they found that they simply could not fit in; they spoke of having become outsiders in their own homes, of turning inward and feeling that their rights had been taken away from them, and of losing trust in others, especially individuals in authority. Most turned to alcohol and drugs to cope with the pain and suffering, constantly feeling forgotten, abused and abandoned; they felt shame and viewed themselves as a burden on society rather than a contributor. When the time came to raise their own families, their marriages were consumed by alcoholism, drug use and domestic abuse, all coping mechanisms to forget their suffering and the pain they have had to endure.

The program had a devastating impact on the lives of thousands of survivors and their families through intergenerational trauma (see also Intergenerational Trauma and Residential Schools).

Calls for Official Apology

Despite the financial compensation, survivors continue to advocate for an official apology from the federal government. They argue that previous apologies for residential schools did not adequately address the specific harms inflicted by the Boarding Homes Program. Justice Pamel, in his decision, acknowledged the severe abuse and cultural disconnection suffered by the children in the program. However, as Reginal Percival noted: “The prime minister of Canada has an obligation, I think, to say … I'm sorry for what happened. Because some of us never made it home.”

Legacy

The settlement emphasizes the need for ongoing mental health and emotional support services throughout the claims process.  A $50 million foundation was created by the settlement, which aims to provide continuous support for the survivors and their families, ensuring that they receive the necessary resources for healing, language and cultural revitalization, and commemoration. The Indian Boarding Homes Program remains an understudied part of Canadian history compared to other instances of historical government programs of education and care for Indigenous children, such as residential schools, day schools and the Sixties Scoop, which are well-documented in the impacts they have had on Indigenous children, families and communities. 

**

Every Nisga’a person belongs to a wilp (family group or house). Wilps own territory and are governed by one or more chiefs, depending on their size.

Nisga’a also belong to one of four clans, known as pdeek: Gisk’aast (Killer Whale/ Owl), Ganada (Raven/Frog), Laxgibuu (Wolf/ Bear) and Laxsgiik (Eagle/Beaver). Membership in a pdeek is determined by a matrilineal system, meaning that it is passed down through the mother’s line.  This maternal clan inheritance also includes the rights to traditional names, songs, crests and dances. 

READ: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nisgaa

Pind, Jackson. "Indian Boarding Homes Program in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 10 September 2024, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-boarding-homes-program-in-canada. Accessed 13 September 2024.