Duncan Campbell Scott

Duncan Campbell Scott served as Canada’s Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs from 1913 to 1932. We acknowledge his role in enforcing policies aimed at forcefully assimilating Indigenous peoples through residential schools. Scott was known for infamously declaring that the government’s objective was to eliminate the distinct cultural identity of Indigenous peoples, stating clearly that he intended to absorb Indigenous populations into the Canadian “body politic” until Indigenous culture effectively ceased to exist. Scott’s attitudes perfectly embodied the logic of elimination inherent in settler colonial practices. Despite clear evidence of harm being done to Indigenous groups, Scott and his colleagues systematically studied the deteriorating health conditions, severe malnutrition, and high death rates among Indigenous groups. This is because the environment within residential schools was conducive to disease outbreaks such as tuberculosis. Scott’s genocidal attitude is further illustrated by his blatant suppression of whistleblowers like Peter Henderson Bryce, who had revealed the shocking extent of illness and mortality resulting from these institutions.

Scott’s tenure ensured the continuation of devastating health crises in residential schools through institutional negligence and the deliberate withholding of adequate healthcare, proper nutrition, and sanitary living conditions. His actions directly contributed to the significant loss of Indigenous lives as residential schools effectively diminished a large portion of the Indigenous population, facilitated widespread disruption of Indigenous families, and weakened

Scott’s bureaucratic negligence and active suppression of critical health data profoundly shaped Canada’s health systems by embedding systemic racism, mistrust, and inequities into Indigenous healthcare delivery. Historically, this led to a health infrastructure that normalized neglect and exclusion of Indigenous health needs, resulting in poor health outcomes and systemic barriers to equitable healthcare access. Contemporary health services in Canada continue to face the consequences of Scott’s legacy, as evidenced by ongoing health disparities experienced by Indigenous populations. The lasting mistrust of healthcare institutions among Indigenous communities further complicates access to healthcare, mental health services, and public health interventions. Addressing these issues requires health systems to acknowledge Scott’s harmful legacy explicitly, prioritize culturally safe care practices and implement meaningful reforms guided by Indigenous leadership, reconciliation, and systemic accountability to Indigenous peoples.