Latest news with #NationalCentreforTruthandReconciliation
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.
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba Museum apologizes for holding ancestral belongings
The Manitoba Museum issued a historic apology Thursday to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities for holding ancestral belongings, including biological and physical remains, in its collections in downtown Winnipeg. 'By accepting, inheriting and keeping ancestral remains in the museum collection, the Manitoba Museum has contributed to and played a role in colonization,' the statement, composed by the museum's board of governors, reads. 'These actions have perpetuated the forced displacement of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and their life experiences, contributing to systemic discrimination and racism, including the history of violence perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples. 'We recognize that keeping ancestral remains in the museum collections has had, and will continue to have, a serious impact on our relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We regret the harm and disrespect caused to the ancestors and to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, and we apologize for our actions, inactions and failures, past and present.' Museum officials were joined Thursday by representatives of the Southern Chiefs' Organization, elders from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, community leaders from Inuit and Métis communities, and staff from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Following a pipe ceremony, museum CEO Dorota Blumczynska delivered the apology, vowing that no ancestors will enter the museum in the future. Many of those ancestors — defined by the museum as 'the physical or biological remains, and more broadly, the spirits of Original Peoples' — were removed from burial locations by early 20th-century archeologists or brought to the museum by members of the public. The remains held at the museum, which opened in 1970 as the Museum of Man & Nature, belong to at least 40 individuals, the majority of whom are believed by the museum to have been buried within the last 500 years in southern Manitoba, though some originated in northern Manitoba and potentially the United States. Supplied Manitoba Museum CEO Dorota Blumczynska Supplied Manitoba Museum CEO Dorota Blumczynska None are from or near Indian residential school sites, the museum says. None of the ancestors was ever on display at the museum; however, some belongings were displayed 'many years ago.' One replica of an ancestor was on view in the museum's Grasslands gallery until the 1980s. 'It was wrong to display this,' the museum's website says. In all cases, the museum, along with its Indigenous advisory circle, is conducting research to determine kinship communities in order to repatriate the ancestors and belongings to their places of origin according to local traditions and customs. 'The Manitoba Museum is located on Treaty 1 territory in the same part of this great nation as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation,' Blumczynska told the Free Press. 'We understand our role in the harm that's been done and also the responsibility we have to do the work that can hopefully one day provide space for healing. 'As a direct action and a commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we believe that by doing this we can be thoughtful and meaningful allies on our shared journey of truth and reconciliation.' The work to repatriate the ancestors and their belongings will take several years, said Blumczynska, who added that the museum has been undergoing its Homeward Journey project since 2022. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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.
CBC
16-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ottawa ends funding for national advisory committee on unmarked residential school graves
An expert committee formed to help Indigenous communities find unmarked graves at former residential schools says the federal government is ending its funding at the end of this year. The National Advisory Committee on Residential Schools Missing Children and Unmarked Burials is led by survivors and co-administered by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) and the federal department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNAC). The organization was formed after 200 potential burial sites were detected through ground-penetrating radar at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School site, an incident that sent shock-waves across the country and received international attention. Crystal Gail Fraser has been on the national advisory committee since it formed in 2022. Fraser, who Gwich'in and grew up in Inuvik, N.W.T., is a historian whose research focuses on residential schools. She currently teaches at the University of Alberta. But just under three years since it was formed, Fraser says the organization will cease operations when its current funding agreement expires on March 31st. "The fact that our funding is being pulled came as a shock," she said. "This work is just underway. We've seen real need from communities to connect with academics, to get free, reliable advice." The decision comes after funding cuts announced in July for unmarked grave searches, and funding delays for residential school non-profit Survivors' Secretariat. Fraser says losing the government's support for residential school research on the ten year anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report is a betrayal. "You know, all of the signals that we've seen from this government has been ongoing engagement with the process of truth and reconciliation," Fraser said. "And when it comes to residential school histories and children who have either died or disappeared as a result of their institutionalization… we are still very much in the truth process." Raymond Frogner is head of archives and senior director of research with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. He said members of the committee were able to provide direct, free support to communities looking to investigate unmarked burial sites and missing children. "Assistance with forensics, ground-penetrating radar, geography, archival research, genealogy," he explained. More than 100 Indigenous communities in Canada are involved in residential schools grave searches, and many encounter barriers trying to access information and resources to carry out that work. "The national advisory committee was a very strong resource base that communities could turn to without the onerous weight of private industry charging them exorbitant prices and maybe even losing control of the records they were going to create in their investigations," said Frogner. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined that at least 3,200 children died while in federal custody at residential schools. At the time, chair Murray Sinclair told CBC that because burial records were often incomplete, he was "absolutely convinced the number is much higher, perhaps as much as five to 10 times as high." Ten years later, despite important milestones in the ongoing effort to acquire complete records, Frogner says significant gaps remain. Negotiations with provinces over the sharing of coroner's records and vital statistics are ongoing. "There's many, many questions that still are left to be answered," said Frogner. "Losing NAC is a tremendous loss for the investigations of these questions." Judy Gingell is with the Yukon Residential Schools Missing Children working group. She says the national advisory committee has been instrumental to their efforts. "It's a loss, of good information, of research, of support," she says the federal government's decision to end funding to the group. "It's just not right. Cruel, as far as I'm concerned." Gingell says she knows of Elders who last saw their children getting on a truck to go to residential school in the fall, and only learned their child had passed away when they did not return by truck in the spring. "Our Elders have no idea where the children are that passed." In a statement released on Thursday, the National Advisory Committee urged the federal government to reconsider and renew their funding so they could continue their work. CIRNAC did not respond to a request for comment from CBC by deadline.
