73. We call upon the federal government to work with churches, Aboriginal communities, and former residential school students to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries, including, where possible, plot maps showing the location of deceased residential school children.
“In Western society, it is often assumed that our dead will be brought home. However, almost all of the parents of the children who attended and died at the (residential school) were not afforded this basic human right.” – Katherine Nichols
If answered, this recommendation will allow Aboriginal communities to properly bury their family members in accordance with their cultural customs. The TRC has already established a project, “The Missing Children Project” to compile the names of children who died, how they died and where they were buried. This call would further such initiatives to provide a more accurate number of unaccounted aboriginal children murdered in the residential schools as well as foster meaningful relationships of solidarity within Canada.
Further Reading:
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – Missing Children and Unmarked Burials: Research Recommendations <http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/pdfs/Working_group_on_Mis_7456E0.pdf>
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – Missing Children Project <http://www.myrobust.com/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=823>
- A timeline: where are the children <http://wherearethechildren.ca/en/timeline/research/>
Compiled by: Hilary Smith