Wilful neglect : the federal response to tuberculosis among First Nations, 1867-1945 / Jane Thomas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thomas, Jane (Historian), author.

Contributor:

Canada Council for the Arts, funder.

McGill-Queen's University Press, publisher.

Series:

McGill-Queen's/Associated Medical Services studies in the history of medicine, health, and society ; 67.

McGill-Queen's/AMS healthcare studies in the history of medicine, health, and society ; 67

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medical policy--Canada--History--19th century.

Medical policy.

Medical policy--Canada--History--20th century.

Discrimination in medical care--Canada--History--19th century.

Discrimination in medical care.

Discrimination in medical care--Canada--History--20th century.

Tuberculosis--Canada--History--19th century.

Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis--Canada--History--20th century.

Indians of North America--Medical care--Canada--History--19th century.

Indians of North America.

Indians of North America--Medical care--Canada--History--20th century.

Discrimination in medical care--History.

Medical policy--History.

Tuberculosis--History.

Health services accessibility.

Health Policy.

Health Services Accessibility.

Racism.

Indigenous Canadians.

History, 19th Century.

History, 20th Century.

Canada.

Medical Subjects:

Health Policy.

Health Services Accessibility.

Racism.

Tuberculosis.

Indigenous Canadians.

History, 19th Century.

History, 20th Century.

Canada.

Physical Description:

xx, 293 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits, charts ; 23 cm.

Other Title:

Wilfull neglect

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"Tuberculosis, once a leading cause of death in Europe and North America, was understood to be preventable and even curable by the early twentieth century. Yet despite growing knowledge about the disease and interventions that would slow its spread, tuberculosis deaths among First Nations in Canada remained staggeringly high. Government policies rooted in colonialism exacerbated a tuberculosis epidemic. Wilful Neglect explores the devastating consequences of the Department of Indian Affairs' failed responses to tuberculosis among First Nations in Canada from 1867 to 1945. Even when medical treatment for tuberculosis became widely available, and despite the federal government's obligations being written into treaties and other legislation, the basic health needs of First Nations remained unmet. The government instead prioritized an assimilationist agenda, including the placement of Indigenous children in residential schools, which became hotbeds for the spread of the infection. Drawing on the department's own annual reports, memoranda, and budgets over more than seventy years, Jane Thomas traces key moments, decisions, and individuals involved in shaping federal health policy, laying bare the consequences of racializing a disease. Health policies developed by colonial governments without the involvement of First Nations have always failed. Wilful Neglect demonstrates a direct link between the federal government's historic health policies and the disparities that continue into the present."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Contents

Figures and table

Foreword / Shawn Batise

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

"The promises we have to make to you are not for today only but for tomorrow" : Setting precedent through legislation, treaties, and government practice, 1867-1883

"There is a ready compliance on their part with regulations" : Assimilation at all costs, through civilizing, Christianizing, and sanitizing the infected, 1844-1903

"We are giving the best attention we can to the medical needs of the Indians" : Dr. Peter Bryce's anti-TB crusade, 1904-1913

"We have been trying to get off rather cheaply" : Treatment of "Indian tuberculosis", 1914-1928

"The activities of the medical branch cannot fairly be judged by the visible results" : Vaccine trials, pilot projects, and a new Medical Services branch, 1929-1937

"A comprehensive and progressive program is long overdue" : New funding and treatment facilities, 1938-1945

Conclusion : If preventable, why not prevented?

Afterword

Appendix A : Individuals responsible for the Department of Indian Affairs (1867-1945)

Appendix B : Department of Indian Affairs medical expenses (1868-1904)

Appendix C : Timeline of United Church mission hospitals opened in Canada

Appendix D : Canadian Tuberculosis Association expenses (1902-1945)

Appendix E : Department of Indian Affairs medical expenses (1905-1945)

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (on pages [217]-288) and an index (on pages [289]-293).

Funded by the Government of Canada, with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Other Format:

Online version: Thomas, Jane (Historian) Wilful neglect.

ISBN:

9780228026204

0228026202

OCLC:

1502711481

Publisher Number:

90102997770

CIPO000295681