SCO Calls on Government to Honour Legal Obligations and Create Commission of Investigations into Children’s Death

October 30, 2024

ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB —The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) commends the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites on her final report, released at a two day National Gathering in Gatineau, Quebec. The report calls for legal obligations to be honoured, the implementation of Indigenous laws and decolonization of the Canadian legal framework, the rematriation of lands and repatriation of the children, and support for Indigenous-led healing. Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray also calls for the creation of a Commission of Investigations to examine the systemic patterns of genocide and crimes against humanity, starting with the disappearances of First Nation children. The Commission would investigate children lost to all colonial institutions such as residential schools, tuberculosis sanitoriums, Indian hospitals, asylums, reformatories, and orphanages to name just a few.

“The Special Interlocutor’s final report is a stinging inditement of the Canadian state that offers a compelling way forward for Canadians. However, the government has only agreed to review the final report. First Nations people need more than a review. We need action, now,” said SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. “Our people are trying to survive a genocide and our children have been disappeared, thanks to these institutions. It’s time for Canada and all governments to pick up this work to change laws, make reparations, and hold perpetrators accountable. “

The Special Interlocutor also strongly addresses residential school denialism and settler amnesty and impunity in her report.

During her two year mandate, Murray heard about children who were not only treated cruelly in life but also in death. She uncovered documents showing government decision making around the treatment of the sacred remains of First Nations children was driven by convenience and a desire to spend the least amount possible. The final report shows that in Manitoba, historical records document the deliberate erasure of a cemetery at the Brandon Indian Residential School, now occupied by the Turtle Crossing RV Park.

“Parents, grandparents, family members, and communities deserve to know where their children are buried,” said Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation Chief Trevor Prince. “Unmarked graves need to be marked. Families need to honour their children in death, and this can’t happen until we know where they are buried.”

In 2022, the Special Interlocutor was appointed to design a new federal legal framework to ensure the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment of unmarked graves and burial sites of children at former Indian Residential Schools and associated institutions. The report comes after a number of gatherings and close collaboration with Survivors and families, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis governments, representative organizations and communities, federal, provincial, and territorial governments, and other relevant institutions such as church entities and record holders.

“These legal obligations and much needed remedies live on paper, and long term funding is the only way to turn them into action,” concluded Grand Chief Daniels. “Funding is critical and must be written into the legal framework. No matter who is heading the federal government, the commitment must be there until the work is done. “

The final report on Unmarked Burials – The Release of an Indigenous-led Reparations Framework can be found on the Special Interlocutor’s Website.

Manitoba NDP MP Leah Gazan spoke at the National Gathering, and her private members Bill C-413 to criminalize residential school denialism must move forward. Denialism is a tool used to hide truth and it must be seen for what it is – hate speech.

Supports for Survivors, intergenerational Survivors, and those impacted can call the Indian Residential Schools Help Line at 1-866-925-4419 24 hours a day for support.

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The Southern Chiefs’ Organization represents 33 First Nations and more than 87,000 citizens in what is now called southern Manitoba. SCO is an independent political organization that protects, preserves, promotes, and enhances First Nations peoples’ inherent rights, languages, customs, and traditions through the application and implementation of the spirit and intent of the Treaty-making process.

For media inquiries:

Email: Media@scoinc.mb.ca

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