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Indian Hospitals Foundation takes strides to support survivors
The non-profit group is working to provide emotional and financial support to victims who were mistreated at these facilities
An aspiring non-profit organization recently made a few stops across the NWT to discuss an important topic with Indigenous residents, that being the impact and lasting damages of Canada’s former ‘Indian Hospitals.’
The group is known as the Indian Hospital Foundation. Over the last few months, they have been holding these engagement sessions to allow former patients to share their stories and to offer suggestions for how the Foundation can help other survivors once it becomes fully operational.
One of the leading members of the Foundation is Dr. Mike DeGagne, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto Scarborough. DeGagne was able to speak on some of the feedback that they have received.
“We supplied a document of the sort of ideas that have emerged so far, but I think there’s a lot of it that focused on communication,” he said.
“Making sure that more people know about the Indian Hospitals, commemoration, the opportunity to not just put a big statue in Ottawa, but to have several that will give some information to people who may be visiting local hospitals about what Indigenous people have gone through at these sites.”
This movement to increase awareness of Indian Hospitals was first born in January 2018, when a woman named Ann Cecile Hardy launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of hospital survivors. This lawsuit was followed by three other cases of a similar manner, and as of January 2020, these claims have been dealt with.
It was in February of 2025 that the Federal Indian Hospitals Settlement Agreement was reached, and the Indian Hospitals Foundation was created, as DeGagne explained.
“The hospitals started a long time ago, in 1939, and the network was built over time. There were 33 recognized Indian hospitals by the time this agreement was struck, and it was finally approved last year. The agreement is called the Hardy Settlement, and it provides funding for compensation for people who suffer trauma at the Indian Hospitals. It also sets up the Indian Hospitals Foundation, that’s intended for healing, commemoration, and wellness.”
DeGagne added that there will be a process for submitting claims in relation to hospitals that are not part of the initial 33 locations included in the Settlement.
The Federal Government, being one of the signatories to the original agreement, is already fully on board with supporting the Foundation. In total, $385 million has already been set aside for the group, and will be treated as an endowment. Money will be used both on creating programs to assist survivors, and for direct compensation.
For anyone who is interested in supporting the Foundation, DeGagne shared that, instead of financial donations, support can be given by providing written comments to their website with any suggestions on what further support can be provided.
“No comment is too detailed or too small. Or if they want, they can send a little video of what they think we should be doing with this foundation. Any contribution would be really helpful.”
Dr DeGagne finished by saying that the Foundation will continue to have discussions and engagement sessions until March, and by that time, they will likely have several documents ready to send to the courts. The Foundation is expected to be in full operation in approximately six to nine months.
The Indian Hospitals Foundation website can be found here.
