A group working to become a healing foundation for survivors of “Indian hospitals” is holding an engagement session in Yellowknife to gather ideas on its proposed activities.
Between 1936 and 1981, the federal government ran 33 racially segregated institutions known as Indian hospitals across Canada. In 2025, Ottawa and survivors of abuse at those facilities reached a settlement agreement. The agreement was approved by the federal court in June last year.
The settlement sets aside money for individual claims alongside $385.5 million for a healing, research and commemoration foundation.
Mike DeGagné, facilitator of the engagement sessions, said the foundation will “do the work that Indian hospital survivors wanted to do.”
“More than anything, we’d like the story of Indian hospitals to be told and more people to know about it,” said DeGagné.
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Engagement on the kind of activities the foundation should support started in April 2026. The group’s website said it will visit communities in Ontario, Nunavik, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Former patients or people with experiences at Indian hospitals are invited to a session in Yellowknife on September 22. DeGagné said this is to discuss the foundation’s work and not for support with submitting individual claims.
Submissions for individual claims opened in January and compensation will range from $10,000 to $200,000. The deadline to submit a claim is July 27, 2028.
Free resources are available to help people throughout the claims process, including help understanding what’s in the settlement, how to submit a claim, and how to access mental health and wellness supports.
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At the September 22 session, DeGagné said, the organization is looking for feedback on ideas already proposed – like a school curriculum on Indian hospitals, a fund to repair grave sites and a national museum – as well as new suggestions for initiatives the foundation should pursue.
You can also provide feedback through online submissions, over the phone, by email and by mail.
DeGagné said a report will be submitted to the courts once public engagement is completed – in about six months – following which the official foundation will be created.
