Article content

James Daschuk wanted to tackle the most important question he could think of.

It was 25 years ago. He was living in Saskatchewan while working on his master’s degree from the University of Manitoba.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or James Daschuk uncovers truths about First Nations history Back to video

“I was sitting in whatever little hovel I lived in as a master’s student and I was thinking, ‘What’s the most important topic I can do?’ ” Daschuk says.

He knew he wanted to study the wealth of historical documents from the archives of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the second-largest corporate archive in the world. The meticulous journals kept by the company’s men across Western Canada gave a remarkably thorough look at the early years of contact between the European settlers and the indigenous people who had lived on the Prairies for centuries.

Daschuk saw an opportunity to get at a topic that is rooted in those early interactions but still resonates today. Previous studies had determined that First Nations people on the Prairies had been incredibly healthy prior to the coming of settlers. Why, then, are health outcomes for indigenous people now much worse than for those who descended from settlers?