Latest news with #DeninuKueFirstNation
CBC
08-08-2025
- General
- CBC
Deninu Kųę́ First Nation says it has finally found the burial sites of 5 children
New Archaeology team's excavation revealed sites on Mission island — 'just the beginning,' First Nation says Caption: Items left on the steps of the Catholic church in Fort Resolution, N.W.T., in June, 2021 in remembrance of lives lost at residential schools. Deninu Kųę́ First Nation said Thursday that after years of searching, it has found the locations where 7 people were buried. (Kate Kyle/CBC) Deninu Kųę́ First Nation in Fort Resolution, N.W.T., says it has finally found the places where five children and two adults were buried, after years of searching for unmarked graves linked to the former St. Joseph's Residential School. In a news release Thursday afternoon, the First Nation said the sites were located on Mission Island. "Who they are and the circumstances surrounding their deaths has yet to be determined," the First Nation wrote. Elders and members of Deninu Kųę́ First Nation have long known that there were unmarked graves in the area. The First Nation has spent several years searching for burial sites, work that began in 2022 and which was guided by elders like Angus Beaulieu, who suggested Mission Island was a place where many people were buried before the school was moved to Fort Resolution and became fully operational in 1910. The school had originally been on Mission Island and ran from 1857 to 1890 in that location. It said initial efforts to find burial sites weren't successful, and ground-penetrating radar didn't reveal anything, but elders insisted Mission Island was the place to look. The First Nation's investigating team ultimately analyzed air photos and marked an area that seemed to be protected from logging and fire. They brought in cadaver dogs, who located a site. "Upon excavation by the [Deninu Kųę́ First Nation] archaeology team, burials have been found," the First Nation wrote, adding that the seven sites located so far are "just the beginning." Those involved in the search have estimated that there could be up to 60 unidentified burial sites linked to the school. Residents have for years called for an investigation into how many unmarked graves there are. Earlier this year, Deninu Kųę́ First Nation Chief Louis Balsillie drew attention to the community's efforts to exhume the unidentified remains of students from the former residential school's cemetery — efforts he accused the territorial government of interfering with. Balsillie and Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon have also been vocal about the community's efforts to return the remains of one child, Alma, who died while at residential school in the 1940s, to her home community. In Thursday's news release, Balsillie stated that he wants the territory to acknowledge that the burial sites hold the remains of children "who died due to untoward circumstances — that they died due to causes that would have been investigated had it happened in a non-Indigenous boarding school."
Hamilton Spectator
06-06-2025
- Science
- Hamilton Spectator
Caribou and ice monitoring projects among 29 recipients of funding
Water, fish, landscape and caribou monitoring are among the 29 recipients of the 2025-26 NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (CIMP). A list of the 29 recipients, seven of which are focused on gathering traditional knowledge, 21 are traditional scientific endeavours and one combining the two fields, was released on Tuesday. 'These monitoring and research projects help us to better understand cumulative impacts to caribou, water, and fish in the Northwest Territories,' said Environment and Climate Change Minister Jay Macdonald. 'I'm happy that NWT CIMP continues its support working with Indigenous knowledge to better inform decision-making, through collaboration.' In total, $2.2 million was doled out to the research projects, seven of which are new projects and 15 of which are near completion. Being named a CIMP recipient opens the door to up to $70,000 in funding for up to three years. Projects vary in length from three-year projects to up to 16 year-long efforts. Several major caribou projects are wrapping up this year, including a 16-year-long effort by the Tlicho government to follow the Bathhurst and Bluenose caribou herds through their summer and fall ranges. Along with this long-term project a number of shorter three and six-year projects monitoring caribou diet, habitat, genetics, behaviour and documenting how traditional knowledge maps out the relationship between the caribou and the Inuvialuit. A second study documenting the relationship between the caribou and the Deninu Kue First Nation has one more year of work to do. Numerous water monitoring projects documenting toxicology levels, pollutants and long-term viability of ice roads are also near completion. Which projects receive funding is determined by a steering committee consisting of appointees from the NWT's Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations, federal and territorial governments and co-management boards. Aside from contributing to the overall wealth of human knowledge, the projects also inform decision making at the GNWT and other government levels. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
23-05-2025
- CBC
'Colonial mindset' preventing return of child's remains to her community, says N.W.T. MLA
WARNING: This story contains details that may be distressing. Some N.W.T. MLAs pressed the territory's culture minister on Thursday to waive legislation that they say is holding up efforts to return a deceased child's remains to her home community. The child from Fort Smith, N.W.T. — identified only as Alma by the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation — died while at residential school in the 1940s, according to the First Nation. Under the territory's Archaeological Sites Act, Alma's remains are considered artifacts since it's evidence of human activity from over 50 years ago and that means a permit would be required to move them. "Insisting that the remains of Indigenous children are subject to Archaeological Sites Act reveals the same colonial mindset that led to the creation of the residential school to begin with," Richard Edjericon said, MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh. Chief Louis Balsillie of Deninu Kųę́ First Nation has said that his community has been searching for unmarked graves of students of the former St. Joseph's residential school in Fort Resolution. It's a possibility people have talked about for years in the community. Balsillie said earlier this year that they've figured out where Alma was buried, and that the community wanted to help Alma's sister fulfil a promise of returning Alma to Fort Smith to be buried alongside her mother. Edjericon, along with Yellowknife MLA Robert Hawkins, pressed the minister to issue a directive to override the Archaeological Sites Act and instead invoke the Coroners Act to allow the territory's coroner to exhume the remains for the purposes of an investigation — something Edjericon says is warranted since he believes "there are serious reasons to doubt" that Alma died of tuberculosis, as indicated on her official death certificate. The Deninu Kųę́ First Nation said in a news release this week that the cause of death for residential school students was often said to be tuberculosis, a "catch-all category." "However, these deaths are questionable according to elders (survivors) and archival records," the release states. Indigenous people not 'property of the state,' MLA says Hawkins says that under the Archaeological Sites Act, Alma is considered a "thing." "And if she is a thing, she becomes a property of the state. And if she becomes a property of the state, what symbolism does that represent, that Indigenous people are a property of the state?" Hawkins said. Caitlin Cleveland, the minister of Education, Culture and Employment, emphasized that neither she nor her department wants to stand in the way of Alma's remains, or those of anyone else, being returned to their community. But she said she needs to follow the law and she doesn't have the authority to issue a directive as suggested by Edjericon and Hawkins. The Archaeological Sites Act came into force in 2014 and Cleveland said the territory is in the process of updating the legislation. She said it wasn't drafted to addresses cases like these but the territory is working to make improvements. "This act does use the term 'artifact,' but in no way, shape or form is the respect or dignity of this process, or the importance of this process, diminished because of that," she said. "There is a desire to ensure that respect is being afforded to all Indigenous people of this territory and Nunavut who may have family who are buried at the sites of our residential schools in this territory." Cleveland also said that if the community knows the identity of the individual and it is clearly marked, the Archaeological Sites Act does not apply. It's not clear how the community would prove that individual's identity. Edjericon said that he was "saddened" by Cleveland's response and said that government policies were overriding treaties and Indigenous values. Caroline Wawzonek, acting as premier in R.J. Simpson's absence, called a point of order on those comments. She said Edjericon had overstepped and made inferences about the minister's intentions and the process, imputing negative motives when the issue is important to all of the assembly's members. "It's not a characterization of work that's happened on this file, that's been described in this House today," Wawzonek said. "It's not fair and it's not proper." Speaker Shane Thompson agreed with Wawzonek in his ruling and Edjericon retracted his comments. 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.
