The DOI matches its Crossref record; 53 of the 54 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Administering Colonial Science: Nutrition Research and Human Biomedical Experimentation in Aboriginal Communities and Residential Schools, 1942–1952
Abstract
Between 1942 and 1952, some of Canada’s leading nutrition experts, in cooperation with various federal departments, conducted an unprecedented series of nutritional studies of Aboriginal communities and residential schools. The most ambitious and perhaps best known of these was the 1947–1948 James Bay Survey of the Attawapiskat and Rupert’s House Cree First Nations. Less well known were two separate long-term studies that went so far as to include controlled experiments conducted, apparently without the subjects’ informed consent or knowledge, on malnourished Aboriginal populations in Northern Manitoba and, later, in six Indian residential schools. This article explores these studies and experiments, in part to provide a narrative record of a largely unexamined episode of exploitation and neglect by the Canadian government. At the same time, it situates these studies within the context of broader federal policies governing the lives of Aboriginal peoples, a shifting Canadian consensus concerning the science of nutrition, and changing attitudes towards the ethics of biomedical experimentation on human beings during a period that encompassed, among other things, the establishment of the Nuremberg Code of experimental research ethics.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“In fall 1948, the researchers turned their attention to Canada's Indian Residential Schools, conducting tests over a five-year period at six residential schools across the nation with close to 1000 Indigenous children selected for the experiments.”
From “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Investigations of the Alberni Residential School found run-down, inadequate kitchen facilities and, as was the case with the other schools included in the study, poor and inadequate diets given to the students.”
From “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“A 1946 study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, moved the focus away from these inferior culture arguments and linked these social and health problems to inadequate and unhealthy food.”
From “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“What Mosby found even more disturbing was that these food experiments were being conducted without the children's knowledge and without their parent's consent.”
From “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“As part of the study, some of the children's diets were enhanced with Western food products such as milk and fruit, along with vitamin supplements, while other children in the study were given nothing or placebos ( [20], pp.161-62).”
From “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“However, rather than develop policies that would support the revitalization of Indigenous food systems or provide them with healthy traditional foods, the dietitians conducting the studies sought to address these problems by promoting what they saw as more nutritious Western foods like milk, cheese, and fruit ( [20], p. 155).”
From “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
Citations
Cites
A history and theory of informed consent
Kapp, M. B. (1986) · Journal of Legal Medicine · doi:10.1080/01947648609513478 · Cited by 2,328
Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
Kiple, K. F., & Jones, J. H. (1982) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.2307/1870318 · Cited by 817
(2011) · Cited by 782
Strangers at the bedside: a history of how law and bioethics transformed medical decision making
Baker, R. (1991) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.29-0348 · Cited by 551
Imperial medicine and indigenous societies
(1988) · Manchester University Press eBooks · doi:10.7765/9781526123664 · Cited by 504
Shingwauk's vision: a history of native residential schools
(1997) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.34-3999 · Cited by 503
The Nuremberg Code and the Nuremberg Trial
Katz, J. (1996) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03540200048030 · Cited by 261
Subjected to Science: Human Experimentation in America before the Second World War
Lederer, S. E., & Davis, A. B. (1995) · History Reviews of New Books · doi:10.1080/03612759.1995.9949143 · Cited by 243
The Foreign Policy of the Calorie
Cullather, N. (2007) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.1086/ahr.112.2.337 · Cited by 229
(2000) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 210
Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet.
Schwartz, H., & Levenstein, H. (1990) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.2307/2164488 · Cited by 201
Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its Legacy
Reverby, S. M., & Foster, H. W. (2010) · Journal of the National Medical Association · doi:10.1016/s0027-9684(15)30517-4 · Cited by 200
Tammarniit (Mistakes): Inuit relocation in the Eastern Arctic, 1939-63
(1994) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.32-1168 · Cited by 182
Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia, 1900-50
Bracken, C., & Kelm, M.-E. (2000) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.2307/1571494 · Cited by 169
(2008) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.45-5720 · Cited by 142
Lost harvests: prairie Indian reserve farmers and government policy
(1991) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.29-2287 · Cited by 135
Colour-coded: a legal history of racism in Canada, 1900-1950
(2000) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.37-6429 · Cited by 132
Hunters at the Margin: Native People and Wildlife Conservation in the Northwest Territories
Sandlos, J. (2007) · Cited by 94
Medicine that walks: disease, medicine, and Canadian Plains Native people, 1880-1940
Heaman, E. A. (2002) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.39-3576 · Cited by 94
Johnston, B. (1988) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 92
Sovereignty or security?: government policy in the Canadian north, 1936-1950
(1989) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.27-1696 · Cited by 70
States of Nature: Conserving Canada's Wildlife in the Twentieth Century
Joseph E. Taylor, & Loo, T. (2007) · Western Historical Quarterly · doi:10.2307/25443568 · Cited by 70
US Medical Researchers, the Nuremberg Doctors Trial, and the Nuremberg Code
Faden, R. (1996) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03540200053031 · Cited by 66
Vitamania: Vitamins in American Culture
Apple, R. D., & Sabin, L. E. (1999) · Nursing History Review · doi:10.1891/1062-8061.7.1.193 · Cited by 61
Health Care and Cultural Change: The Indian Experience in the Central Subarctic.
Olmsted, A., & Young, T. K. (1990) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2072632 · Cited by 56
Landing Native Fisheries: Indian Reserves and Fishing Rights in British Columbia, 1849-1925
Harris, D. C. (2008) · bepress Legal Repository · Cited by 55
Diagnosing the Discursive Indian: Medicine, Gender, and the “Dying Race”
Kelm, M. E. (2005) · Ethnohistory · doi:10.1215/00141801-52-2-371 · Cited by 44
Relocating Eden: The Images and Politics of Inuit Exile in the Canadian Arctic
Marcus, A. (1995) · University Press of New England eBooks · doi:10.1349/ddlp.772 · Cited by 42
Clinical and Other Observations on Canadian Eskimos in the Eastern Arctic.
Rabinowitch, I. M. (1936) · PubMed · Cited by 42
The red man's on the warpath: the image of the "Indian" and the Second World War
(2005) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.42-4842 · Cited by 35
Indian health services in Canada: A sociohistorical perspective
Young, T. K. (1984) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(84)90088-1 · Cited by 34
Useful bodies: humans in the service of medical science in the twentieth century
(2004) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.41-6573 · Cited by 34
This Last Frontier: Isolation and Aboriginal Health
McCallum, M. J. (2005) · Canadian Journal of Health History · doi:10.3138/cbmh.22.1.103 · Cited by 29
Medical survey of nutrition among the northern Manitoba Indians.
Moore, P. E., Kruse, H. D., Tisdall, F. F., & Corrigan, R. S. (1946) · PubMed · Cited by 22
Foodways in a Muskeg Community: An Anthropological Report on the Attawapiskat Indians
Trudeau, J., & Honigmann, J. J. (1963) · Anthropologica · doi:10.2307/25604563 · Cited by 22
The Great Starvation Experiment: Ancel Keys and the Men Who Starved for Science
Reverby, S. M. (2010) · Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences · doi:10.1093/jhmas/jrq044 · Cited by 20
The nutrition and health of the James Bay Indian.
Rp, V., & McMILLAN, C. (1948) · PubMed · Cited by 18
Neill, D. J. (2009) · Food and Foodways · doi:10.1080/07409710802520268 · Cited by 17
Imperialism, colonialism and the new science of nutrition: The Tanganyika experience, 1925–1945
Little, M. (1991) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(91)90121-r · Cited by 16
Marshall, D. (2006) · Cited by 15
Edible Histories. Cultural Politics. Towards a Canadian Food History
Iacovetta, F., Korinek, V. J., Epp, M., & Urbančič, A. (2014) · Quaderni d italianistica · doi:10.33137/q.i..v34i2.21071 · Cited by 14
An Episode in the Administration of the Great Whale River Eskimo
Honigmann, J. J. (1951) · Human Organization · doi:10.17730/humo.10.2.lk1442417l78t5r3 · Cited by 13
‘The saddest time of my life’: relocating the Ahiarmiut from Ennadai Lake (1950–1958)
Laugrand, F. B., Oosten, J., & Serkoak, D. (2009) · Polar Record · doi:10.1017/s0032247409008390 · Cited by 12
Hunter, G. J. E., & Pett, L. B. (1941) · Cited by 12
"What Makes the Indian Tick?" The Influence of Social Sciences on Canada's Indian Policy, 1947-1964
Shewell, H. E. Q. (2001) · Histoire sociale · Cited by 8
The development of dietary standards.
Pett, L. B., Morrell, C., & Hanley, F. (1945) · Cited by 8
A survey of the ophthalmic status of the Cree Indians at Norway House, Manitoba.
Nicholls, J. V. V. (1946) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 6
A long term study on ascorbic acid supplementation.
OGILVIE, G. F., & Lb, P. (1954) · PubMed · Cited by 5
Errors in applying nutrient allowances to dietary surveys or food policies.
Pett, L. B. (1945) · Cited by 4
MEDICAL PRACTICE AMONG BUSH INDIANS.
Corrigan, C. (1946) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 3
The Logic of the James Bay Survey
Honigmann, J. J. (1951) · DalSpace (Dalhousie University) · Cited by 2
The Use and Abuse of Vitamins.
Lb, P. (1945) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 1
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 54 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Implementing Anti-Racism Interventions in Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review
Hassen, N., Lofters, A., Michael, S., Mall, A., Pinto, A. D., & Rackal, J. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18062993 · Cited by 286
Coté, C. (2016) · Humanities · doi:10.3390/h5030057 · Cited by 272
“These research investigations were conducted by trained dietitians working for either the Red Cross or the federal Nutrition Division led by director Lionel Pett ([20], pp.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialTowards reconciliation: 10 Calls to Action to natural scientists working in Canada
Wong, C., Ballegooyen, K., Ignace, L., Johnson, M. J. (., & Swanson, H. K. (2020) · FACETS · doi:10.1139/facets-2020-0005 · Cited by 229
Improving health research among Indigenous Peoples in Canada
Hyett, S., Marjerrison, S., & Gabel, C. (2018) · Canadian Medical Association Journal · doi:10.1503/cmaj.171538 · Cited by 177
Smylie, J., & Firestone, M. (2015) · Statistical Journal of the IAOS · doi:10.3233/sji-150864 · Cited by 155
Metadata
- Authors
- Mosby, I.
- Corresponding author
- Mosby, Ian
- Venue
- Histoire sociale/Social history
- Publisher
- Project MUSE
- Published
- 2013
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 91
- Pages
- 145-172
- ISSN
- 0018-2257 (ISSN-L)
- 1918-6576
- OpenAlex
- W2101536803
- Cited by
- 407
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 42 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 70 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 5
- FWCI
- 20.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Histoire sociale (publishedVersion)
- Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Indigenous Cultures and History
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Medical History and Research
- Keywords
- colonial science, nutrition research, Aboriginal peoples, residential schools, malnutrition, informed consent, research ethics, Nuremberg Code, federal Indian policy, northern Manitoba, Canadian federal government, 1940s
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
