Kimberly Murray
Mediaplanet sat down with Kimberly Murray, Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites, to discuss her role in Canada's path to reconciliation.
What does your role as the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools?
As Independent Special Interlocutor, my role is to:
• Engage with Survivors, First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments, Indigenous organizations, Indigenous communities, and families to gather information and input about barriers and concerns relating to the identification, preservation, and protection of unmarked graves and burial sites, including the exhumation and repatriation of remains, where desired.
• Provide information and liaise with relevant governments and organizations to assist Survivors, Indigenous families, and communities to address barriers and navigate federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal systems to support their search and recovery of the missing children. I will also do everything in my power to assist communities to obtain and preserve relevant information and records from Canada, the provinces and territories and any other institutions, such as church entities, universities, and other record holders.
• Provide recommendations for a new federal legal framework to protect and preserve unmarked burial sites and support the recovery of the missing children. An important consideration in this regard will be how and what Indigenous laws apply.
Can you tell us more about the new federal framework that’s underway and its role in ensuring the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment of unmarked graves and burial sites?
The Sacred work that Survivors and Indigenous communities have been leading to
recover the children who were never returned home from Indian Residential Schools has revealed an urgent need for legislative, regulatory, and policy protections of former Indian Residential School sites and other associated sites. There are likely unmarked burials located at every former Indian Residential School Site across Canada, including both the Indian Residential Schools that are covered by the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement and those that were not recognized under that agreement. In addition, there are many associated sites that need to be searched since children were often sent to other places from Indian Residential Schools, including hospitals, Indian hospitals, sanitoria, cemeteries, reformatory schools, and industrial schools.
There are significant gaps in legal protections at the federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal levels to protect the sites pending searches and investigations, and from further development. In addition, there are barriers for Survivors, Indigenous families and communities leading this work to access relevant records to locate and identify the children who are recovered. Finally, there are questions about whether law reform or other measures are needed to support death investigations and, where appropriate, criminal prosecutions. These are just some of the areas where gaps in legal protections are known to exist. As I continue to meet with Survivors, Indigenous leaders, families, and communities leading this work, I may also hear about other gaps in legal protections. My final report and recommendations will be aimed at providing assistance to the federal government, and other governments, on how to ensure the protection of these sites so that the children are treated with the honour, respect, and dignity that they deserve.
How can Canadians ensure they are taking meaningful steps towards Truth and Reconciliation?
The fact that unmarked burials exist on former Indian Residential School sites across Canada changed Canada’s reputation both domestically and internationally. Every Canadian has a role in supporting this Sacred work. Just as we would not tolerate the denigration of the graves of our own family members, each of us must stand up and call for respect and dignity to be shown to the children’s bodies and spirits who are being recovered.
It’s also important to highlight the role of different governments, institutions, entities, and organizations in contributing to the operation of Indian Residential Schools. People often think that the federal government and the church entities bear the sole responsibility of taking action in the context of the search for unmarked burials and the recovery of the children.
Certainly, the federal government and the churches share the majority of this responsibility; there is absolutely no doubt about that.
However, provinces, territorial governments, and municipalities and other entities, such as universities, also hold records and they need to find and share these with those leading these searches. In addition, in some cases, provinces, territorial governments, and some universities actively participated in the administration and inspection of Indian Residential Schools.
As such, each of these governments, entities, institutions, and organizations need to participate in supporting this Sacred work.
The Push for Indigenous Procurement and Export
Reconciliation requires taking meaningful steps forward to advance the Indigenous economy with intentionality for the long-term benefit of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses.
For centuries, Indigenous people have provided goods and resources to help Canada grow, and that tradition continues today with more than 60,000 Indigenous businesses thriving and ready to compete in the global marketplace. Yet Indigenous businesses remain underrepresented in supply chains.
Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) introduced Supply Change™ in 2018, an Indigenous procurement strategy that looks for ways to strengthen connections between corporate Canada, governments and Indigenous businesses. A large component of Supply Change™ is the Aboriginal Procurement Marketplace,
whose members consist of corporate companies committed to enhancing Indigenous representation in their supply chains, and it currently includes over 1,200 Certified Aboriginal Businesses.
In 2021, the Minister of Public Service and Procurement announced a mandatory requirement for all federal departments and agencies to direct a minimum of five per cent of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses. Indigenous Services Canada further pledged $35.2 million over five years to modernize the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business.
At approximately $22 billion annually, the Government of Canada is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the country. As such, even a modest change in the Government of Canada’s procurement practices will have enormous material benefits for Indigenous businesses and communities.
CCAB recently released the report Trading Nations: Supporting International Indigenous-To-Indigenous Trade Policy Development to provide an overview of Indigenous trade and export, an examination of the rights of Indigenous peoples, current provisions and examples of initiatives, as well as recommendations.
Government research has shown that increasing access to markets for Indigenous businesses is key to closing economic gaps between Indigenous peoples and the non-Indigenous population, which economic analysis conducted by the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, has reported would grow the Canadian economy by $27.67 billion.
CCAB is committed to ensuring procurement and trade opportunities exist to foster a strong Indigenous economy — and greater prosperity for all Canadians.
Tabatha
Has Space for Everyone
Prioritizing their community partnerships, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is actioning UNDRIP by offering innovative investment opportunities that support Indigenous groups.
Katherine Cappellacci
Indigenous owned and operated, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is empowering Indigenous entrepreneurs by securing and facilitating private and public capital investments. Acting as financial intermediary, their re-invested funds have lasting impacts within Indigenous communities and projects. They work one-on-one with businesses to get investment ready, call government to action, and broker beneficial relationships.
It's their way of acting upon the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) — the international recognition of the unfair treatment of Indigenous groups and the establishment of a universal framework of rights and standards.
Specifically pertaining to Articles Three and Twenty-one, Raven is working to improve economic and social conditions of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island. Investing in Indigenous communities is an act of economic reconciliation, and their Indigenous Outcomes Fund is doing just that.
We call on Canadians to reflect on how to participate in and effectively support the Indigenous economy.
As Indigenous ways of knowing and being teach us, there is a place for everyone in this regenerative economy.
This article was sponsored by
A Day to Honour the Truth and Forge a Path of Reconciliation
September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day that honours First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples, as well as their families and communities. The need for such a day comes from a profoundly painful part of Canadian history, shaped by colonization and cultural subjugation.
Pay-for-success projects
“Our innovative financial pathways create opportunities and relationships that might not otherwise be possible for Indigenous groups,” says Jeff Cyr, Raven’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “Money can act as medicine, and this is how Canadians can help.”
The Indigenous Outcomes Fund is the first of its kind. A vehicle to pool capital through private investors, it seeks to raise $50 million to invest in outcomes contracts (Indigenous programs/initiatives) that have incredibly high success rates and high impact. It puts money into the hands of Indigenous communities that know how to best address present issues — and the government acts as the re-purchaser of successful outcomes.
This Social finance tool leads to actionable community-driven priorities, paving new ways for Indigenous communities to gain economic independence and grow. It’s addressing systemic failures by presenting progressive tactics that breathe new life into existing structures. “This impactful fund already has serious momentum,”
Jeff adds. “There’s financial returns to entice investors yes, but this endeavor is really about changing lives.”
Funding that’ll go far
By backing the largely untapped Indigenous economy, private investors boost actionable priorities like climate and health initiatives. For Raven, prioritizing their personal community relationships is the key to success — proving that social finance paves an effective pathway towards reconciliation.
Indigenous ways of life were devastated by early European settlers and their treaties. One of the darkest parts of this history was the residential school system, where Indigenous children suffered abuse and were conditioned to believe that their culture, language, and heritage were to be rejected. The scars of these atrocities are still felt today.
Organizations like the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) that advocate for human rights and equity are collaborating with Indigenous organizations to amplify their voices and help build stronger bonds, striving towards a more equitable future. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation serves as a critical milestone for this reconciliation work, ensuring that the legacy and history of residential schools are acknowledged and understood.
“As we walk the path towards reconciliation, transformation is necessary,” says Anne-Marie Pham, CEO, CCDI. “We’re committed to portraying a more authentic history of Canada's diverse Indigenous Peoples, addressing the impact of residential schools, systemic racism, and their ongoing effects on workplaces and communities.”
In partnership with Indigenous Works, CCDI created the DreamMakers Council, which is focused on advancing Indigenous inclusion in the workplace. Partner members have access to valuable learning and training resources, and build a community where they can share key strategies for advancing inclusion.
CCDI also hosts webinars like Moving from reconciliation to reconciliACTION: Engaging and supporting Indigenous communities and Reconciliation: Sisters on the path
“When it comes to any kind of diversity, equity and inclusion work, it is of paramount importance to ‘walk the talk’,” says Pham. “It’s not enough to simply discuss change — we must take actionable steps to effect that change.”
This is Chanie.
Chanie Wenjack was an Anishinaabe boy born in Ogoki Post on the Marten Falls Reserve in Northern Ontario on January 19, 1954. In 1963, at the age of nine, Chanie and his sisters were forced to attend the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora, Ontario, 600 kilometres away from their family and community.
These are the only two photos that were ever taken of Chanie before he died in 1966 at just 12 years old. After running away from Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School, he walked for 36 hours before dying of exposure. His death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in the residential school system. Chanie’s story, tragically, is like so many stories of Indigenous children in this country.
Each one of us can contribute meaningfully to move reconciliation forward.
Chanie is gone, but his story endures today in Secret Path, Gord Downie’s album, graphic novel, and animated film. Join the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund on October 17, 2023, as we launch this year’s Secret Path Week. Secret Path Week commemorates the legacies of Chanie and Gord annually from October 17-22. This is a meaningful week, as these dates mark the dates that Gord (October 17, 2017) and Chanie (October 22, 1966) joined the spirit world. By sharing Chanie’s story with the world, we can help the world see him as he deserves to be seen, and preserve his legacy as we continue to move reconciliation forward. Each one of us can contribute meaningfully to move reconciliation forward.
Melissa Vekil
Jeff Cyr Co-Founder
Anne-Marie Pham CEO, CCDI