Information session to help people navigate Federal Indian Hospital settlement claims

Some First Nations in Saskatchewan will hold information sessions about making claims under the Federal Indian Hospitals Settlement. One lawyer from Keeseekoose First Nation says having to revisit the experience can be difficult and she wants to help.

“This is a process in which people need gentle hands and I worry that there isn't going to be enough support in place,” said Mary Culbertson.

Culbertson, from Thunder Hill Law, said she is assisting people with their claims process because she wants to make sure no further hurt is done.

There were about 33 Federal Indian hospitals that operated between 1936 and 1981. Under a court-approved settlement from June 2025, people who were harmed at these hospitals are eligible for compensation.

In Saskatchewan, the Fort Qu’Appelle Indian Hospital operated from 1936 to 1981 and North Battleford Indian Hospital operated from 1949 to 1977. 

Culbertson is hosting an info session in Keeseekoose this week to talk about the settlement, the compensation grids and the claims process.

Culbertson helped people with claims under the Indian Residentials Schools Settlement Independent Assessment Process and said she saw first hand how horrible that process was, putting survivors through traumatic hearings.

This claims process requires only paperwork but she said claimants should take their time when filling out the forms to make sure they get the right dates and give a chance for memories to pop up.

Culbertson said she also knows there is confusion with other hospitals and sanitoriums and residential schools and patients were shuffled around.

“Unfortunately, our people suffered a lot from these systems, including health care, and we still suffer today," said Culbertson.

Laurie Meijer Drees, a retired professor of Indigenous Studies at Vancouver Island University, wrote a book called Healing Histories: Stories of Canada's Indian Hospitals.

Meijer Drees said in her research she found there to be two big issues at the hospitals: lack of informed consent and patients who seemed to disappear.

“Many people were very young, other people didn't speak English and perhaps weren't aware of all the communication that would require them to know where they were and what was being done to them,” said Meijer Drees.

Meijer Dress said accessing records for the hospitals was difficult, so that might be challenging for claimants in that process.