Indigenous Watchdog Calls Out the Federal Government for Lack of Progress on the Missing Children and Burial Information

With the recent discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential School located on the traditional territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, the focus has rightfully turned to Calls to Action # 71 through 76 “Missing Children and Burial Information.”Three of the Six Calls to Action dedicated exclusively to “Missing Children and Burial Information” have not even started, and this is six years after the release of the TRC Summary Report in June 2015.

Indigenous Watchdog is dedicated to the transformation of Indigenous lives by raising awareness and educating all Canadians through the delivery of comprehensive, high-quality information on the full range of Indigenous issues with a particular focus on the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.The Watchdog has been tracking the federal government response on its website – http://www.indigenouswatchdog.org – as well as delivering comprehensive status updates on the actions of all stakeholders who are accountable for responding to the Calls to Action.

If the federal government is truly committed to reconciliation, open and transparent communications about what they are doing are essential. The delay of two years or six years is unacceptable. The three “Missing Children and Burial Information” Calls to Action that have still not yet started relate directly to:

• # 74: children’s burial location, commemoration ceremonies, and markers, and reburial
• # 75: implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries
• # 76: Adopt strategies around residential school cemeteries in accordance with Indigenous-led principles and protocols

The government states that it is now releasing $27M from the $33.8M announced in Budget 2019 to “assist Indigenous communities in locating and memorializing children who died at residential schools”.

Six years to the day after those Calls to Action were first issued.

For the current status of all six “Missing Children and Burial Information” Calls to Action, see: