A group of survivors of a residential school that closed due to lack of funding is accusing the federal government of breaking promises and lying to survivors about Canada's commitment to uncovering the truth.
The Secretariat of Survivors, which is investigating missing children and unmarked burials associated with the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School in Brantford, Ont., says it will close its doors at the end of this month unless it receives funding. Decisions from Crown-Indigenous Relations.
Laura Arndt, head of the secretariat, said that the non-profit organization has not yet received a cent in the current fiscal year and has stopped work on two important projects to maintain core operations. She said that the secretariat is running out of money immediately.
“It goes against reconciliation and it goes against the call to action but more importantly it's a lie to the survivors who were promised better,” Arndt said.
“They spent their whole lives fighting to get to the truth, and we stand here where they don't know if the organization will continue past December 31.”
Arndt cited past pledges by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandsangari, who pledged to stand with survivors as they seek to uncover the truth about Canada's residential school system.
This was in 2021, after more than 200 possible unmarked burials were discovered at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Ottawa was founded Community Assistance Fund with a “serious commitment to find children” next year.
“They lied,” Arndt said of those promises, echoing the words of Mohawk Institute survivor Roberta Hill.
Not only did Canada attempt to cut and cap the cash available from the Community Assistance Fund, Just have to walk it backAnandasangari's department has barred communities from using the money for aggressive archaeological research, Arndt said.
Meanwhile, the National Advisory Committee on Access to Archives resigned en masse due to its own lack of funding. These actions send a message to survivors that Canada is not as committed as it says it is, Arndt said.
“Whether Canada is doing this on purpose or not, it promotes a denialist frame and it prevents those of us doing this work from getting the facts,” she said.
Canada responded
A spokesman for Anandsangari said he was not available for an interview this week. In a statement, Bahoz Dara Aziz did not address the Secretariat's concerns or explain why funds have not been released this fiscal year.
“The application deadline was November 15. This is always the notified date and is consistent with the previous year's timeline. As with any program, we must evaluate all requests based on the criteria provided to communities and organizations,” she said. wrote in a statement.
“We created this fund in response to the shameful history of residential schools to support communities on their healing journeys. We are very committed to doing that.”
The Mohawk Institute, fed to tasteless children known as Moose Hole, was the longest-running residential school in Canada. It operated from 1828 to 1970, first by the Anglican Church and then by the federal government.
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation has documented 48 deaths linked to the Institute, but the Secretariat's investigation has more than doubled that number, bringing the number to 101 known deaths.
Kimberly Murray, special negotiator for missing children and unmarked burials associated with residential schools, has repeatedly criticized Crown-tribal relations for treating these discoveries like other programs.
Murray, whose two-year term ends this month, recently released a final report that found children who died and were buried in residential schools were not only missing, but victims of crimes against humanity of enforced disappearance.
He argued that Canada has obligations under international law for access to the truth, which means it needs to ensure adequate funding. The federal government has yet to respond to his report.
The government estimated that 150,000 indigenous children attended residential schools, a church-run, state-funded integration system that operated nationwide for more than a century.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded that this system was a central element of the Canadian policy of cultural genocide.
A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support to survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.
Mental health counseling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or online chat.
