Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister under fire over contract with international organization

As more First Nations announce discoveries of potential unmarked grave sites at former residential schools, there have been calls for any deceased children located to be identified and repatriated to their home communities.

But now Ottawa is being slammed for enlisting a Netherlands-based organization to help with that process.

“I think the momentum gets really destroyed, and the trust gets destroyed, when decisions like this are made out of hand without the conversations that we thought would be coming,” said Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, chair of the Governing Circle at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, which says it was not consulted on the decision.

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller recently announced a $2-million agreement with the International Commission on Missing Persons, which is based in The Hague.

The deal calls for the ICMP to conduct cross-country outreach and engagements with willing Indigenous communities to explore options for identifying and repatriating any human remains located in unmarked graves at former residential school sites.

But the NCTR is not a signatory to the document and says it was caught off-guard by the announcement for work that falls within, or directly adjacent to, the scope of its mandate.

“Why fund an organization like the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation if you’re not actually going to engage them in these conversations, these very critical and sensitive conversations, before you make those decisions at the federal level?” said Wesley-Esquimaux.

Miller’s office declined to make him available to CTV News for an interview, but did provide a written statement.

"To ensure discussions and information sessions are inclusive, respectful of Indigenous protocols, culturally sensitive, and offer adequate health support; local Indigenous facilitators will lead every step of the process,” the statement said.

Earlier this week on Vancouver Island, the Tseshaht First Nation announced preliminary findings of the first phase of its investigation into missing children, deaths and unmarked graves at the site of the former Alberni Indian Residential School.

It says by cross-referencing historical records and survivor accounts, it has confirmed 67 children died at the Port Alberni institution that operated from the 1890s to the 1960s.

Using ground-penetrating radar, drone photography and other imaging technology, the First Nation says it has identified 17 locations with anomalies consistent with unmarked graves.

If possible, it plans to identify any children who may be buried on the grounds of the institution and repatriate them to their home communities and any surviving family members.

But it says that work should be trauma-informed and led by First Nations, not foreign organizations.

"For us, it does need to be community-driven and nation-based and that wasn't what we asked for,” said Tseshaht’s Elected Chief Councillor Wahmeesh (Ken Watts).

“Ultimately those contracts and items like that, consultants, need to be led by us."

The ICMP will conduct 35 community engagements and two town halls across the country before submitting a final report to Ottawa.