Latest news with #NationalCentreforTruthandReconciliation
Cision Canada
2 days ago
- Politics
- Cision Canada
The Government of Canada launches a call for interest to join the Indian Residential Schools National Monument Steering Committee (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) Français
Indian Residential School Survivors and intergenerational Survivors are invited to join the next cohort of the Steering Committee OTTAWA, ON, TRADITIONAL UNCEDED LAND OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHINABEG NATION, July 29, 2025 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada, in collaboration with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), is launching a public call for interest for membership of the Indian Residential Schools National Monument Steering Committee (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit). Residential School Survivors and intergenerational Survivors who identify as First Nations, Inuit or Métis are encouraged to apply and help lead the next phase of this important project. In response to Call to Action 81 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Indian Residential Schools National Monument (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) will honour Survivors, their families and communities—and commemorate the children who never returned. The Monument site, located on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg on the West Terrace of Parliament Hill, was selected by the Steering Committee with the permission of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation, following a process rooted in collaboration and consensus. The Steering Committee will continue to ensure that the Monument project remains grounded in Indigenous values and perspectives. Committee members will help guide the next phase of the project, including the design selection process, the development of educational and outreach materials, and future on-site programming. Applications will be accepted until September 9, 2025. Interested individuals can visit for more information on applying. Quotes "The Indian Residential Schools National Monument (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) is a response to a profound truth in our shared history, one that calls for remembrance, accountability and healing. Survivors' voices have guided this work from the beginning, bringing their lived experience, knowledge and strength to the next phase. I also want to express my deep gratitude to the outgoing members of the Steering Committee, whose dedication and vision have laid the foundation for this Monument." —The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages "Survivors and intergenerational Survivors hold the truths that this country must never forget. Their voices are essential in shaping this Monument—not just as a place of remembrance, but as a living testament to strength, resistance and the ongoing journey of healing." —Stephanie Scott, Executive Director, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Quick Facts The Indian Residential Schools National Monument Steering Committee (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) was established in 2022 to oversee the Monument project. Members have played an instrumental role over the past two years in establishing the Steering Committee's groundwork. Their efforts in selecting the Monument's site and providing foundational visioning have created a strong basis for its development, ensuring it remains guided by Indigenous values and perspectives at every step. National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation SOURCE Canadian Heritage
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.
