'Our children are not artifacts': N.W.T. First Nation says efforts to find gravesites hampered by permit
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
The chief of Deninu Kųę́ First Nation in the N.W.T. says a territorial permit holding up his community's effort to unearth unmarked graves erroneously calls children who died at residential school "archaeological artifacts."
Chief Louis Balsillie wrote a letter to the N.W.T. premier about the issue earlier this month. In that letter, he says the territory has asked that a forensic anthropologist the community is working with apply for a permit to exhume the remains of students who died at the former St. Joseph's residential school in Fort Resolution.
The community began looking for unmarked graves outside of the hamlet's cemetery a few years ago, said Balsillie. Over time, he said, they realized there were burials within the cemetery that were unidentified – and that's what they're concentrating on now.
Balsillie believes there may be more than 60 unmarked burial sites there, and that they belong to children from outside of the community who died at residential school. He said the First Nation wants to return those remains to surviving loved ones.
He says the permit requirement stems from the territory's Archaeological Sites Act. The act, he said, defines the remains as archaeological artifacts because they are evidence of human activity that's more than 50 years old.
"Our children are not artifacts," Balsillie wrote in the letter. "The Indigenous communities, whose children attended St. Joseph's residential school, have a right to have their loved ones repatriated and buried alongside their family members in their home communities and to follow cultural protocols."
Balsillie said the permit is a "continuation of colonial practices and policies that have caused immeasurable harm to our people," and he's asked the territory to waive the permit requirement for their work.
Balsillie said last Friday that he hadn't received a response to his letter yet. In an emailed statement to CBC News that same day, a spokesperson for the N.W.T.'s Department of Education, Culture and Employment said the territory was taking time to review Balsillie's concerns.
Deninu Kųę́ First Nation is undertaking the crucial task of locating unmarked graves of children who attended St. Joseph's residential school in Ft. Resolution, which operated from 1903 to 1957. The community estimates there may be up to sixty unidentified burials. However, the search is facing significant challenges as they move forward with their efforts. Louise Balsillie, Chief of Deninu Kųę́ First Nation, and Linda Vanden Berg, an anthropologist and ethnohistorian, share their insights into the ongoing search and the roadblocks they have encountered. Please be advised, this story includes sensitive topics related to residential schools.
According to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, St. Joseph's opened in 1903 and experienced periodic fires, illness outbreaks, an explosion and food shortages before it eventually shut down in 1957.
In an interview with host of CBC's The Trailbreaker, Hilary Bird, Balsillie told the story of Alma – a little girl from Fort Smith, N.W.T., who he says died at the school in the '40s when she was just five years old.
Alma's sister, now 88, promised her mother that she'd find Alma's remains and bring them back home to Fort Smith to be buried beside her, said Balsillie.
They have since figured out where Alma was buried, Balsillie said, and the surviving sister is waiting for the bones to be exhumed. "She's just worried that she'll die before that happens," he said.
Speaking at the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon said the coroner's office had offered to help because it has provisions for the exhumation of human remains. Edjericon said the coroner's office and the archaeology department are "clearly at odds" about how to move forward.
"There are currently investigations into the cause of the death of these children and why they were buried. But in the meantime, Alma's remains must be returned home," he said.
Education, Culture and Employment Minister Caitlin Cleveland told Edjericon that the territory's justice department is of the legal opinion that the Archaeological Sites Act does apply to the ancestral remains of northerners.
However, she said, the territory is in the process of updating that legislation with the help of Indigenous communities. She told Edjericon he had an "absolute commitment" from the department that it would work through the remaining decisions related to it as quickly as possible.
"The children who are buried there may also be from other traditional territories as well, and we need to ensure that we're respectful of that," she said.
Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by the latest reports.
A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
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