Reflections on ethical challenges encountered in Indigenous health research using archival records

T he dataset on which our paper is based comes from residential school students' health examination records that form a small part of the Department of Indian Affairs' Record Group 10 Collection (RG 10) (1). RG 10 is a vast and diverse collection that documents Canada's oft-troubled relationship with First Nations people. RG 10 is publicly available and held on microfilm in universities and other data repositories across Canada. While there is no way of knowing exactly what these records contain until they are closely scrutinized, these types of archival records are extremely important for documenting Canadian history. For example, analysis of RG 10 and related record groups has revealed appalling conditions and abuses that occurred in the residential school system (2,3). As we looked closely at the health examination records used in our study, their contents challenged us to view historical research through two contemporary lenses: the Canadian principles for ethical research with Indigenous peoples that govern practices largely around the collection of new data (4); and the activities and outcomes of our national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and its offshoot, the new National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), whose mandate includes truth-telling about the legacy of Indian residential schools (5,6). The records we consulted date from the early-to mid-twentieth century, a time when Canadian Indigenous children were required to attend residential schools. Records were collected during routine health examinations carried out at school entry to assess children's overall health status and isolate those with infectious conditions such as tuberculosis. There is no evidence that these health examinations were carried out with the knowledge or consent of parents. These records include detailed, sensitive and individually identifiable material, including chil-dren's and parents' names, home communities, educational background and health status. The records cover the period 1919Á1953, therefore many of these children and their descendants are still alive today. Archival material located in the public domain is not subject to any conditions or restrictions and is available to anyone with the wherewithal to wade through voluminous handwritten or typed material in files or on microfilm. University-based researchers using these data are under no obligation to have their research protocol reviewed or approved by a research ethics board. Nevertheless, our team appreciated the significance of the ethical challenges surrounding the use of these data and developed a strategy to work through them. That strategy is described here, and we hope …