@quietcanines: Canada Experimented on Indigenous Children Without Their Knowledge How residential school students became subjects in government nutrition research In the 1940s, the Canadian government discovered that Indigenous children in residential schools were suffering from serious malnutrition. They found low body weight, vitamin deficiencies, anemia, inflamed gums, decaying teeth and other signs of poor nutrition. Instead of feeding these children proper nutrition, Canadian officials and researchers such as Dr. Lionel Pett, a chief architect of Canada’s Food Guide, saw an opportunity to study them. In one experiment at the Port Alberni residential school, children’s milk rations were reduced to 8 ounces per day, instead of the recommended 24 ounces because government employees wanted to see the effect of an improper diet on children’s health. Even after researchers found problems, the low milk ration was maintained for two years to provide a baseline. But perhaps the most disturbing part involved their teeth. Researchers viewed cavities and gingivitis as indicators of nutritional health. That meant dental treatment could interfere with their results. So, researchers ordered local dentists to withhold certain dental care including sodium fluoride treatment and dental prophylaxis. In other words, researchers were studying health problems in children while restricting interventions that could change the conditions they wanted to observe. If you want to learn more about indigenous history and culture, join our growing Substack community, we are still welcoming new members to our tribe. The link is in my bio. #indigenous #indian #residentialschools #History #firstnations

Michael

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Region: CA

Tuesday 01 September 2026 02:36:59 GMT