Latest news with #NCTR
National Observer
29-05-2025
- General
- National Observer
Names of priests who served in residential schools made public
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) has released a list of 140 priests and brothers who worked in Canada's residential school system as part of the Oblates, a Catholic missionary religious group. This new research, out today, is the result of years of work between the NCTR and the Oblates of OMI Lacombe Canada. The Oblates shared important documents and records that many families have been asking for — especially those still searching for information about survivors and the many children who never came home. The list is online and available through the NCTR Archives. Each profile will include background information about the individual and links to the residential schools where they worked. 'While this was a devastating system, it was run by ordinary people who chose in a variety of ways to be involved in it,' said Sean Carleton, a historian and Indigenous Studies scholar at the University of Manitoba. 'This is part of the accountability and justice that's so important for the reconciliation process.' The Catholic Church operated the largest share of residential schools in Canada, where thousands of Indigenous children faced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. 'These personnel files supply a human measure to a story that is too often only institutional,' said Raymond Frogner, Head of Archives and Senior Director of Research at the NCTR, in a press release. 'These personnel files supply a human measure to a story that is too often only institutional,' said Raymond Frogner, Head of Archives and Senior Director of Research at the NCTR. The Oblates had a key role in running residential schools, mainly in western and northern Canada. They operated 48 schools, starting with the Dunbow Industrial School in Alberta in 1884. For a long time, it was very hard to get information about the priests who worked in these schools. Records were scattered, incomplete, or kept private — sometimes for up to 50 years after a priest died. A new agreement now allows the NCTR to see these files just two years after a priest's death, speeding up access to important information. 'It can bring a lot of closure to families and survivors,' said Crystal Fraser, a historian and Indigenous studies scholar at the University of Alberta. 'It helps people understand more about who they were and where they came from — how an abuser fits into the bigger picture of how these institutions operated.' The list was compiled with OMI Lacombe and will be updated as more names are confirmed. This release comes after years of public pressure and is part of a wider effort to confront the legacy of residential schools, especially after the discovery of unmarked graves at former school sites across the country. 'The Oblates do have a history of being quite secretive, of hiding and protecting their brothers. What this shows is that there is a change — that the Oblates want to work with organizations like the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to be part of the process of establishing the truth,' Carleton said. He said that many Canadians mistakenly view residential schools as a chapter in the distant past. But the system operated formally between 1883 and 1997 — meaning many survivors are just middle-aged today. Fraser said that the system wasn't limited to residential schools. 'There were so many other institutions that were connected into this bigger network of colonialism, like Indian hospitals, like orphanages, like receiving homes, psychiatric institutions,' Fraser said. She said the knowing these names is important to understand the history of residential schools as part of Canada's national reckoning with genocide, but also to support the tens of thousands of survivors still living today as they continue their healing journey. She pointed out that only 15 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action have been completed so far. 'It was former TRC Commissioner Justice Murray Sinclair who said that this [reconciliation] is something that is going to take many generations to slowly work at and fix and implement. So we're still just really in the beginning stages,' Fraser said.
CBC
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Files documenting worst abuses at residential schools to be destroyed unless survivors ask otherwise
Files documenting the worst abuses at residential schools are set to be destroyed in 2027 and, despite a multi-year outreach, some survivors say they didn't know they could opt to have their files preserved. Christina Kitchekesik, a member of Tataskweyak (Split Lake) Cree Nation, attended Guy Hill residential school near The Pas, Man., where she endured physical, mental, spiritual and sexual abuse. As an advocate for survivors, Kitchekesik ,74, has shared her own experience at residential school with others over the years to help promote understanding and healing. She also shared her experience in the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) which was created by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement alongside the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC heard 6,700 survivors speak about what happened to them at residential schools. The IAP provided survivors like Kitchekesik the chance to be compensated for the abuse they suffered at school, and 38,000 came forward. Their IAP files contain their testimony, along with documentary evidence of their time at residential school, with items like medical records documenting physical abuse. Despite her advocacy work and her regular contact with people at the National Council for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), which stores the records from the TRC, Kitchekesik says she did not know that she could have her IAP file preserved as part of the historical record at the NCTR. Order for destruction Of the 38,000 people who filed claims with the IAP, 90 per cent had a hearing or settlement negotiation, according to the IAP website. The process was made confidential so survivors would be comfortable sharing painful and personal details. It also meant that any people associated with the schools who were accused of abuse would not have those details made public. The question of what to do with the files afterward arrived at the Supreme Court in 2017. The NCTR and the Canadian government opposed the destruction of the files, while many Catholic organizations, lawyers who acted for IAP claimants and the Assembly of First Nations supported destroying them. The AFN was not available for an interview. The court ruled the IAP files must be destroyed by Sept. 19, 2027. The court's ruling established a program to notify survivors about the deadline and to let survivors know they had options — they could request their files for their own keeping or consent to have them sent to the NCTR to be preserved, or both. If they chose to give their files to the NCTR, they could choose to have identifying information removed from the documents. Marie Pelletier, 74, attended four different residential schools in Manitoba throughout the '50s and '60s, including Pine Creek, Fort Alexander, Sandy Bay and Assiniboia. She wasn't aware she could give her IAP files to the NCTR. "I heard nothing about that," she said. Pelletier, who is Ojibway from Peguis First Nation in northern Manitoba, has had her file for many years, but isn't sure where it is. She, like Kitchekesik, said she would be interested in sharing it with the NCTR with her personal details included — if she can find it. Both women say they think it's good for survivors to share their stories with their children and grandchildren so they can understand why survivors behaved the way they did. But on top of the benefits for their descendants, they say Canadians have a lot to learn from the files. "There's still many people that don't believe [what] happened in residential schools, they think we're all lying," Kitchekesik said. Protecting survivors' privacy IAP adjudicator Kathleen Keating, who started with the IAP when it began in 2003 (then called Alternative Dispute Resolution) and was there until it finished processing survivors' claims in 2021, said she spoke with hundreds of survivors who were afraid their testimony would become public. She said adjudicators would often travel to meet survivors outside of their communities to preserve their privacy and remembers reassuring survivors by demonstrating her password-protected tape recorder, highlighting security measures taken with her filing cabinet and even explaining how her paper shredder worked. "I can remember people who threw up in a waste basket in the hearing room at the thought of sharing these stories," she said, adding she personally promised people their testimony would stay confidential. "I just can't imagine betraying those people." Keating said the Supreme Court ordered a two-year multimedia campaign to let survivors know what they could do with their IAP files. The campaign included print, television, radio and social media ads, as well as information phone lines and a website. Additional efforts to reach survivors included information packages and posters sent to band offices, friendship centres, correctional facilities and other stakeholders. Since 2021, the only part of the notification program still operating is the website. "If you look at the notification program, I don't know what else could have been done," Keating said. The point of notification, she said, was not to persuade people one way or the other but to tell them their options. Keating said she expects the number of survivors who have shared their files with the NCTR is probably "quite small." "I never met a single person who was anxious to share their story widely," Keating said. Files 'generationally unprecedented' Raymond Frogner, the NCTR's head of archives, said the NCTR has received just 96 IAP files from the 38,000 survivors who took part. While the NCTR already has thousands of TRC documents, Frogner says the IAP files are "generationally unprecedented." "We'll never again see this kind of a tribunal do this in-depth, profound research," he said. Additionally, other countries like the U.S. have nothing close to the information that has been gathered in Canada, Frogner added, so the documents hold global significance, too. Word of mouth from elders has been the most successful method of getting survivors to share their documents, Frogner said, and the NCTR is continuing that outreach. Frogner said he regularly sees a lack of awareness when he attends conferences with community members and discusses their IAP file options. "The overwhelming response is surprise and shock," he said. Laura Arndt, who is Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River, said she understands how sacred survivors' stories are from both her personal and work experience. Arndt, the lead at the Survivors Secretariat which is leading the investigation into unmarked burials at the Mohawk Institute, said her aunt Mary took part in the IAP after suffering medical neglect while attending the Mohawk Institute. Her aunt has since died, and since the files can only be accessed by the survivor themselves, Mary's file is permanently out of reach. "The hardest part in all of this is the only history that this country has is the history that's written in black ink. The IAP process, including my aunt's file, is black ink," she said. "I appreciate those records carry such pain and such trauma that the need to handle them as sacred documents is critical. But to destroy them is to destroy the truth of what really happened." Although she doesn't often speak with survivors about their IAPs, when it does come up Arndt said many are not aware of their options. Arndt said knowing that records will be destroyed is heartbreaking, especially because she has seen many government and church records from residential schools — like showing what materials were purchased to repair the school or how much cutlery was purchased — but says survivor testimonies are "the most critical information." Arndt said she believes that survivors' files could contain details about times, locations and other information that could help with the search for unmarked graves. "In destroying the records, the evil doers of this genocide get protected," she said. Survivors who went through the IAP can request their files for themselves and/or have them sent to the NCTR by filling out the request form or consent form (or both) and returning them by email, mail or fax before Sept. 19, 2027.
Hamilton Spectator
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
On Red Dress Day, Northern premiers pledge $75,000 for national Truth and Reconciliation centre
Canada's three territories are pledging $25,000 apiece toward the creation of a new home for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg. A joint announcement was released on May 5 to commemorate Red Dress Day following the Northern Premier's Forum, which was held in Haines Junction, Yukon, this year. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's [NCTR's] spirit name is Bezhig miigwan, which means 'one feather.' 'The North has been disproportionately impacted by the legacies of residential schools and colonialism and has played an important role in truth telling and reconciliation,' NWT Premier R.J. Simpson stated. 'Supporting the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation as they build a permanent home for survivors' stories will ensure those truths are never lost and continue to guide the path toward justice and healing. We're proud to do this together with Yukon and Nunavut.' The $75,000 will go toward a $40-million fundraising campaign to cover the remaining costs of construction for a new facility at the University of Manitoba. The federal government pledged $60 million for the project in 2022. The Winnipeg Foundation has also donated $5 million to the effort. Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said supporting the centre was of extreme importance to the North. 'The work our territories are accomplishing together at [the] Northern Premiers' Forum is focused on meeting the needs of Northern people, advancing reconciliation and ensuring that the voices of Northern Canadians are heard,' he said. 'Supporting the work of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is one way that we are working collaboratively across the North to ensure that our history is never forgotten.' Since its inception in 2015, the NCTR has served as both a support service for residential school survivors as well as a national archive of the atrocities that occurred during the residential school era. Housed in the historical residence of the University of Manitoba's president, the 5,800-square-foot building houses over four million records alongside over 7,000 accounts from survivors — and counting. However, the organization has outgrown the space and many of the records are inaccessible simply due to logistics. According to a January 2025 report making the case for the new centre released by the NCTR, an addition 23 million records are anticipated to be handed over to the centre in the coming months. To house all the information the NCTR is responsible for preserving, the new facility will feature climate-controlled archival vaults, video archives and digital recording services, a library and research centre, classrooms and a theatre, private safe spaces for survivors to view archives, a children's area and indoor and outdoor ceremonial spaces. If all goes according to plan, the centre should be ready to open in 2029. 'As the three territories with the largest Indigenous populations in Canada, we are committed to demonstrating leadership in support of a permanent home for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation,' stated Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok. 'The collective stories of Inuit, Dene, Cree and Metis, must be shared with our children and generations of Canadians to come.'
CBC
27-04-2025
- General
- CBC
Cousins from Teslin, Yukon heading to Winnipeg after winning award promoting reconciliation
Social Sharing Two cousins from Teslin, Yukon are heading to Winnipeg, Manitoba next month to accept the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's (NCTR) 'Imagine a Canada' award at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. 'Imagine a Canada' is an educational program offered at some schools throughout the Yukon. The program asks students across the country to envision a reconciled Canada and make something that reflects their vision through artwork, an essay, or a community project that promotes reconciliation. Grace McLeod, 12, and Dylan Smarch, 11, are members of the Teslin Tlingit Council, and attend the Khàtìnas.àxh Community School. Their drawing titled 'Imagine a Canada where you can be yourself' was chosen for the award. "Me, and Grace were looking at the human rights contracts," Smarch said. "So me and Grace decided 'let's do where you could be yourself because nobody should be able to tell you what you can or cannot do.'" In theme of reconciliation, the two thought it was important to reflect and honour those who went to residential schools. "It's about residential school and the kids who went there," McLeod said. "It's for the kids who couldn't speak their language and went to those schools. Imagine a Canada where every kid could have a family." This is not the first time the two will be going to Winnipeg to accept this award. McLeod and Smarch also won the award in 2023. "It feels good," McLeod said. "It feels pretty awesome," Smarch said. "Don't ever give up on your goals and dreams. There might be rough spots but remember the big goal." Making their families proud Smarch's mother, Jari Smarch, said the first time they went to Winnipeg the experience was "pretty overwhelming" for the two but this time will be a little different. "They know what to expect," Jari said. "They know they've got to go in front of a bunch of people and say their speech and tell them what their story is about. I think they're way more prepared this time." "You're just overwhelmed with pride when they're up there speaking and telling their story." Grace's father Phillip McLeod said he and his wife are extremely proud of Grace and Dylan and how they're already becoming role models within the community at such a young age. "When they first told me Grace had won I thought 'oh yeah okay I'll go to the school and we'll get the award and they're like no you're getting ready to go to Winnipeg, and I'm like what?!'" McLeod explained while chuckling. "I totally didn't believe it was a Canada wide thing until I started learning about it." McLeod said he never had the chance to travel across Canada before so to be able to see the country with his family, especially for this reason, is a dream come true for him. "You know they're creating a trail for the future generations even though they're young," Phillip said."You know they're showing the younger kids in their school that it is achievable if you put your mind to it and your heart to it you can achieve what you want." The two will be accepting the award on May 23.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
2 WMU education programs impacted by nationwide funding cuts
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Two Western Michigan University education programs have been affected by funding cuts by the U.S. Department of Education, a university spokesperson said. WMU said it was part of the department's recent slashing of nearly $900 million in contracts nationwide from the . On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education said more than $350 million in ' was canceled. Some of the cuts were to contracts the department claims were found to be 'wasteful' and 'ideologically driven.' 'Instead of improving outcomes for students, here's where taxpayer dollars were going: – $4.6M contract to coordinate zoom and in-person meetings – $3.0M contract to write a report that showed that prior reports were not utilized by schools – $1.4M contract to physically observe mailing and clerical operations,' from the department on X, formerly known as Twitter, said. However, the cuts are affecting a WMU program focused on improving education. One program is the Urban Teacher Residency Program. A grant of $5 million has backed the program's efforts to curb a shortage of teachers in several Southwest Michigan districts like Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo. In the program, paraprofessionals and long-term substitutes would be able to obtain graduate-level certification. WMU said approximately 20 graduate students are wrapping up their training. A source in the program said around a million dollars were left in the grant before the announcement. 'One of UTRP's many elements required that a portion of these future teachers come from racially diverse backgrounds. This program at Western is close to concluding,' a university spokesperson said in an email to News 8. Some of those goals in the include increasing the number of certified teachers in high-need areas by at least 90 over the five-year program and improving three-year retention in those areas. So far, 20 cohorts have graduated from the program. A spokesperson for the National Center for Teacher Residencies said these programs are affordable pathways for prospective teachers to enter the field. 'In turn, the teacher residency programs support school districts in need of teachers to fill hard-to-staff subject areas, including STEM, special education, and multilingual programs, and underserved communities, including rural and urban areas,' the NCTR said in an email. Federal funds are critical to program completion, and without the grants, the NCTR said local teacher shortages will worsen. Another WMU program affected is the High-Impact Leadership for School Projects. Under the $15 million grant, the project helped districts in the state find ways to improve literacy in elementary and middle schools. The program had two years left on the grant. University officials said the grants were with the IES and were focused on evidence-based solutions. A WMU spokesperson said the school will appeal to maintain the programs. If that fails, the university is also looking into how federal decisions will impact students, faculty and staff involved in the initiatives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
