The federal government has committed $845,437 over two years to help the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation locate, document and memorialize burial sites of children who never came home from residential school.
The initiative aims to conduct research and gather knowledge related to nine former residential schools in the Yukon and NWT: Shingle Point, Hay River Anglican, All Saints, Fort McPherson, Grollier Hall, Stringer Hall, Akaitcho Hall, Grandin College and Breynat Hall.
According to a news release, children from Aklavik, Inuvik, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk and Ulukhaktok attended those schools.
“The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation is doing difficult but critically important work on the ground in their communities to dismantle the legacy of colonialism and its ongoing impact,” Gary Anandasangaree, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, was quoted as saying.
“In partnership with IRC, we will continue to support them in undertaking this solemn work to find the children who did not return from residential schools.”
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“Our collaborations will help heal wounds,” said IRC chief executive officer Duane Smith, “so that our families can move forward, help end the transmission of violence from one generation to the next, and help Inuvialuit and Canada continue our essential work with confidence.”
The federal government and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation said on Wednesday they had also signed a memorandum of understanding on advancing reconciliation.
That document is intended to “strengthen a respectful Inuit-Crown relationship and help to establish a process to discuss matters of importance for Inuvialuit,” the news release stated.
In December 2023, the Canadian government announced more than $85 million to fund 12 Indigenous-led emergency shelters across Canada.
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On Wednesday, Ottawa said one of those shelters will be the Inuvialuit Family Wellness Centre, a new IRC shelter project in Inuvik.
The news release stated that centre will provide culturally safe and trauma-informed services and supports for Indigenous women and children escaping violence.
The federal government did not specify how much of the $85 million will go toward the project in Inuvik.
