Overview
A 1943 research paper detailing extrasensory perception (ESP) experiments on Indigenous children at a Canadian residential school has resurfaced, prompting renewed scrutiny of how Cold War‑era scientific programs intersected with the nation’s assimilation policies. The study, titled “ESP Tests with American Indian Students,” was authored by A. A. Foster and published in The Journal of Parapsychology. Its rediscovery by Anishinaabe researcher Maeengan Linklater in early 2015 has placed the paper at the centre of a broader historical reckoning over the use of Indigenous populations in controversial government‑sponsored research.
Historical Context
Canada’s residential‑school system, operated jointly by the federal government and various churches from 1831 until the last school closed in 1996, was designed to remove Indigenous children from their families and force cultural assimilation. Over the decades, survivors have documented widespread physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as neglect that contributed to the deaths of 4,117 children officially recorded by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), with many scholars estimating the true toll could approach 10,000. The system’s legacy continues to affect living survivors, some of whom are now in their thirties, and the discovery of unmarked graves at former school sites has intensified public demand for accountability.
The Rediscovered ESP Study
Linklater, who served as the Aboriginal program coordinator for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, first encountered the paper while browsing a small bookstore at a Winnipeg festival. She described the moment in a recent interview:
“Ten years ago, I was employed as the Aboriginal program coordinator for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and during that time I was at this festival in Winnipeg… I was looking through some books and found this study. It was shocking to see Indigenous children being used in psychic experiments.”
The 1943 article reports that a cohort of students from the Brandon Indian Residential School were subjected to ESP tests under the guise of wartime research. The experiments, conducted during World War II, aimed to determine whether children could demonstrate “psychic” abilities such as remote viewing or telepathy—capabilities that were of interest to both Allied and Axis powers for potential intelligence applications. The paper provides scant methodological detail and no follow‑up on the participants, reflecting the era’s lax ethical standards, especially concerning marginalized groups.
Reactions from Indigenous Communities and Scholars
Indigenous leaders and scholars have expressed both outrage and a call for deeper investigation. The director of the Indigenous Research Centre at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Catherine Miller, noted that the study “exemplifies a pattern where Indigenous bodies were treated as experimental subjects without consent, echoing the broader abuses of the residential‑school system.” Legal scholars argue that the experiments may constitute violations of both Canadian law and international human‑rights conventions, though statutes of limitation and the passage of time complicate potential redress.
The discovery has also sparked renewed interest in the role of Cold War intelligence programs in Canada. Historians point to parallel U.S. projects such as the CIA’s “Star Gate” program, suggesting that Canadian agencies may have collaborated with American counterparts in exploring psychic phenomena for espionage purposes. While concrete archival evidence linking the 1943 ESP tests to formal intelligence operations remains limited, the timing—coinciding with heightened wartime secrecy—raises legitimate questions about governmental oversight.
Ongoing Investigations and Future Directions
The federal government, through the Office of the Indian Residential Schools Commissioner, has announced a review of archival materials to determine whether additional undocumented experiments were conducted in other schools. A task force comprising historians, Indigenous elders, and ethicists will assess the scope of the ESP study and its possible connections to later Cold War research initiatives.
Advocacy groups, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s successor body, are urging the release of all related files under the Access to Information Act. They argue that transparency is essential for “truth‑telling” and for providing surviving victims and their families with the acknowledgment needed for healing.
As the investigation unfolds, the 1943 ESP paper stands as a stark reminder of how scientific curiosity, when divorced from ethical safeguards, can become a tool of oppression. Its rediscovery underscores the importance of revisiting historical archives to uncover hidden injustices and to ensure that future research respects the dignity and rights of all peoples.
