This page will include links and uploads for reference materials on the historical confinement of Doukhobor children in New Denver, from our collection and around the Web.
On February 27, 2024, a formal apology was given to the living survivors of the Sons of Freedom Doukhobors who were confined as children at the New Denver Institute in 1953-1959. The province of British Columbia apprehended approximately 200 children aged 5 to 15 years of age. The apology was over a half a century overdue: 71 years had gone by since the first harrowing abductions by the RCMP in 1953. As a result, it was not heard by almost half of the survivors, who died before the apology was given. The trauma experienced by the survivors past and present also extends to their families inter-generationally.
- July 2023 BC Ombudsperson report, “Time to Right the Wrong” (external PDF, 2.1 Mb). Draws attention to the government’s inaction in issuing an apology and compensation for the “unjust and oppressive” apprehension and confinement of approximately 200 Sons of Freedom Doukhobor children between 1953 and 1959.
- August 2023 letter from the Council of Doukhobors in Canada to the BC Attorney General (PDF, 341 Kb). A letter in support of Ombudsperson recommendations by the Council of Doukhobors in Canada, a co-ordinating group with members representing Doukhobor communities in Western Canada.
- February 2024 livestream of the formal apology in the BC legislature (Youtube).
- Nashi Lyudi (Our People): three-minute 2024 documentary on Doukhobor confinement in New Denver by Melissa Ruth.
Doukhobor Life in Canada 