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Oblivious: Residential Schools, Segregated Hospitals, and the use of Indigenous Peoples as Slaves of Race Science
An investigative journalist reckons with the cost of settler privilege.
In the last thirty years, various parties have exposed government archives recording the facts of Canada’s genocidal attempt to destroy its Indigenous populations, a gradual holocaust of segregation, poverty, coerced labour, avoidable infectious diseases, forced migrations, and even unethical and cruel scientific experiments, all while the descendants of Prairie settlers enticed by the same government to take over Indigenous territories prospered at their expense. While performative statements of gratitude for being allowed to stand on the territories of various First Nations have become standard features of Canadian public events, the statements of claim, academic literature, and multi-volume commission reports setting out exactly what we stole, who we hurt and how, have been read by few, and the policies and decisions which crushed generation after generation of Indigenous people are still not broadly known.
In Residential Schools, Segregated Hospitals, and the use of Indigenous Peoples as Slaves of Race Science, investigative journalist Elaine Dewar exposes the governmental machinery behind the unacknowledged Jim-Crow era of the Canadian Prairies. The granddaughter of settlers saved during their first Prairie winter by the generosity of their Indigenous neighbors, Dewar explores how even well-meaning Canadians who glimpsed the truth of what was being done by the government of Canada in their names did nothing to stop it. Part memoir, part investigation, Oblivious tells the story of a Jewish girl from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, who grew up in a society so segregated—its Indigenous people consigned to an alternate universe—that she failed to notice for decades.
In the last thirty years, various parties have exposed government archives recording the facts of Canada’s genocidal attempt to destroy its Indigenous populations, a gradual holocaust of segregation, poverty, coerced labour, avoidable infectious diseases, forced migrations, and even unethical and cruel scientific experiments, all while the descendants of Prairie settlers enticed by the same government to take over Indigenous territories prospered at their expense. While performative statements of gratitude for being allowed to stand on the territories of various First Nations have become standard features of Canadian public events, the statements of claim, academic literature, and multi-volume commission reports setting out exactly what we stole, who we hurt and how, have been read by few, and the policies and decisions which crushed generation after generation of Indigenous people are still not broadly known.
In Residential Schools, Segregated Hospitals, and the use of Indigenous Peoples as Slaves of Race Science, investigative journalist Elaine Dewar exposes the governmental machinery behind the unacknowledged Jim-Crow era of the Canadian Prairies. The granddaughter of settlers saved during their first Prairie winter by the generosity of their Indigenous neighbors, Dewar explores how even well-meaning Canadians who glimpsed the truth of what was being done by the government of Canada in their names did nothing to stop it. Part memoir, part investigation, Oblivious tells the story of a Jewish girl from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, who grew up in a society so segregated—its Indigenous people consigned to an alternate universe—that she failed to notice for decades.
563 pages, Paperback
Published May 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 4, 2026
This non-fiction quickly becomes a memoir of the authors family history and life- while it is well written and engrossing, it neglects to actually dive into the promised subject matter. Additionally the dismissal of the plight of Palestinians- while showing sympathy in her analysis of literal Nazis...- and dismissal of indigenous perspectives shows a lack of familiarity with the subject matter and an ignorance of decolonial/anti-colonial studies and practices. I kept waiting for the moment in the book where she becomes aware of her biases and actually delves into the roots of her "obliviousness" and unpacks some her colonizer assumptions but the moment never came. Too much name dropping, especially about people tangental to the story. This could have been packaged much better as a memoir, because it doesnt offer anything of substance on the topics it claims to address. At times it verges on denialism when Dewar expresses doubt about burials without citation or further discussion or retraction of this claim. I am giving the benefit of the doubt that given the oppourtunity for more time (sincere condolences to Elaines family- may her memory be a blessing) she could have reached deeper conclusions, but as the book stands it is difficult to recommend.
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June 15, 2026DNF
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews