Q&A: The Transgenerational Effects of Indigenous Residential Schools

The Scientist spoke with Evan Adams, a First Nations physician, about how the health legacy of oppressive government-owned schools, including his parents’ experiences, has influenced his own life.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 8 min read

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A memorial in Canada for child victims of residential schools

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ABOVE: A memorial at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia where a mass grave was discovered.
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Today (September 30) marks the first year that Canada observes a new federal holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation meant to honor the experiences of Indigenous people who attended the country’s residential schools, government-sponsored facilities tasked with assimilating and erasing Native culture. The last of such schools closed in 1996, but for many decades attendance was compulsory for Indigenous children between the ages of 7 and 15, and it’s estimated that roughly 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children attended. The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation has documented thousands of accounts from survivors detailing physical and mental abuse that students experienced, bolstered by the recent discovery of mass graves at several residential schools throughout the country.

Researchers are now beginning to quantify the longstanding ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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