Hitgwin! Qaumata Miyopimâtisiwin Foundation (HQMF) - CBC Listen
In this CBC interview, Reginald Percival, an Indian Boarding Homes Program Survivor, lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit, and HQMF board member representing British Columbia, describes a devastating part of Canadian history that remains widely overlooked. Unlike residential schools, the Indian Boarding Homes Program placed Indigenous children in private homes while they attended public schools. Percival recalls leaving his Nisga’a community at age 12, the grief of families watching their children depart, and the racism he encountered at school. His father’s advice to speak only English reflected the dangers children faced when expressing their Indigenous identity.
Percival shares how separation from family was compounded by abuse, neglect, and repeated moves between boarding homes. He describes being confined in a closet, deprived of food, and having a letter from home destroyed. At school, Indigenous students were discouraged from pursuing academic courses and directed toward vocational training. Despite these barriers, he insisted on taking academic subjects and found support from peers who stood up for him. His account also recognizes other Survivors who experienced exploitation and were denied meaningful educational opportunities, showing how the program’s harms extended far beyond being away from home.
For Percival, the class action settlement was about recognition and acknowledgment more than money. He emphasizes the lasting damage caused by losing access to language, culture, family, and community, and the years of advocacy required to have boarding home Survivors’ experiences recognized. Speaking on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, he calls for their stories to be included in Canada’s understanding of these historical injustices. The launch of the Hitgwin! Qaumata Miyopimâtisiwin Foundation represents an important step toward honouring Survivors and supporting healing, while his testimony makes clear that recognition does not erase the pain they continue to carry.