New film examines writings of 2 residential school era figures
A new short film aims to set the record straight on two important historical figures from the residential school era. Duncan Campbell Scott was the top civil servant in what was then called the Department of Indian Affairs from 1913-1932.
Dr. Peter Bryce was the chief medical officer for the same department from 1904-1921. Both men held strongly divergent views on the residential school system. Scott believed First Nations children needed to be assimilated into white society and the residential school system was the best way to achieve this goal.
In numerous reports, Bryce documented the unsanitary conditions of residential schools, their detrimental health effects on children and the fact the schools served as hot spots for such diseases as tuberculosis. He continuously called on the government to make improvements but was largely ignored and eventually fired.
Both men are buried in Ottawa’s Beechwood Cemetery. The film was put together by Beechwood Cemetery and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.