The province announced June 21 that they will put up cash to fund efforts to search and investigate former residential school sites in Manitoba, while local Indigenous leaders say any efforts to investigate these sites must be led by First Nations people and communities.
The Pallister government said in a press release they will contribute $2.5 million to begin the work of “supporting the identification, investigation, protection and commemoration of Indian Residential School burial sites across the province.”
The announcement comes weeks after the horrifying news that 215 unmarked graves were discovered near a former residential school in Kamloops B.C.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) said they appreciate the province providing the funding, but now hope that the efforts to investigate former residential school sites are led by Indigenous community members.
“The AMC is pleased that the province has dedicated resources and is agreeing to work with First Nations to deal with this tragedy,” AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas said in a statement.
“In doing so, we need to ensure that the province follows the direction of First Nations in order to be respectful and successful. Our citizens are knowledgeable and can provide the right guidance to complete this work with partner organizations in a respectful and culturally appropriate way.”
AMC said they now hope to see ongoing collaboration with the province to investigate former residential school sites.
“While this amount is an initial start to begin the work, it will certainly take far more of a commitment and a collaborative long-term relationship with our governmental partners at all levels to step up and engage in this work,” Dumas said.
The news came just days after the Manitoba NDP publicly called on the PC government to begin work to search former residential school grounds.
While speaking to the Winnipeg Sun June 21 NDP MLA Nahanni Fontaine said she is happy to hear the province will put up money to search and excavate former residential school sites in Manitoba, but wished the news of the 215 graves in B.C. didn’t have to come out to finally convince people of the horrors of the residential school system.
“I think what Kamloops did was give undeniable truth and evidence for Canadians and different levels of government of something that Indigenous people have been saying for years and years,” Fontaine said.
“For us as Indigenous peoples this is not news, this just confirms what we have all known.”
Fontaine also said it is time for Canadians to listen to and believe residential school survivors when they speak about the abuse and trauma they endured in the system.
“Nobody believed survivors, and it took Kamloops to unmask the truth.”
The province said they will now meet with Indigenous leadership, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers to determine how to utilize the funding to “identify, document, protect and commemorate the burial grounds and unmarked graves of missing children.”
“Our government is committed to working collaboratively with residential school survivors, families, Indigenous leadership and communities, Elders and Knowledge Keepers and the federal government to support this very important and necessary process of truth-telling and healing that will help us move towards reconciling these historic wrongs,” Indigenous and Northern Relations Minister Eileen Clarke said in a statement June 21.
“Manitoba wishes to do its share in recognizing, reconciling and healing. But our process must be and will be led by Indigenous peoples, especially survivors, families, Knowledge Keepers and Elders,” Clarke said.
— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the government of Canada.
