CTV News journalist connects with his large Indigenous family for first time

ALERT BAY, B.C. -

From Vancouver, it takes the whole day to get to Alert Bay, B.C., off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. For CTV News reporter Ben Miljure, it’s taken his whole life.

Miljure decided to visit Alert Bay in the latest step in reconnecting with his Indigenous heritage. He’s a descendant of the Cook family, which held a special reunion that drew hundreds of family members from all over western Canada.

It was a difficult decision for Miljure.

“I was concerned I would feel like an outsider, a visitor," he said.

For most of his life, Miljure knew little about his Indigenous family.

“It would have been very awkward and embarrassing so I just avoided those conversations.”

A turning point for the 43-year-old journalist came when he was covering the discovery of suspected unmarked graves at the site of a former Kamloops residential school. During a live report, Miljure was overcome with emotion. Since then, he has made efforts to find and connect with family members.

The biggest void in his life was not knowing where his mother was. Elisabeth Hill was removed from her Indigenous family as a child. She struggled on the streets, and for 21 years her family had no idea where she was.

In 2018, Hill’s sister, Halie Bruce, a lawyer, testified at the Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Her testimony prompted the investigation to be re-opened and Hill was found living in a care home in Toronto.

“We were able to find Lisanne when the investigation was done properly,” said Bruce.

Miljure has visited his mother in Toronto three times. After that, he felt ready to meet his large extended family.

At the Cook family reunion, he met his 89-year-old grandmother for the first time.

“I was carrying a picture of me and my mom because she hasn’t seen my mom in decades. We hugged and we were both crying.”

The reunion held a special ceremony in the Namgis Big House to welcome Miljure into the family. His aunt Halie Bruce said, “Eventually we all come home. If we're lucky to survive the intergenerational impacts, we come home and our culture will save us.”

They presented him with a vest to symbolize how he will be covered and protected by his family.

Miljure spoke after the ceremony, clearly moved by the support.

“I have this sense of relief – this weight is lifted from my shoulders. I feel like where I belong. I really took the long way around but I am so happy to be home.”