Sacred Responsibility: Searching for the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials

Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray has released her Interim Report titled ‘Sacred Responsibility: Searching for the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials.’ The 175-page report shares her preliminary findings and identifies 12 areas of common concern among Survivors, Indigenous families, and communities. Preliminary finding 23 states:

“Indigenous data sovereignty should be affirmed in the context of all records relating to the search and recovery of missing children and unmarked burials. This includes Indigenous ownership, control, access and possession of the records and information relating to Indian Residential Schools and other associated institutions, and the missing children and unmarked burials.”

Over the past two years, our researchers have worked closely with Indigenous Nations to access historical documents related to residential schools. These groups have faced roadblock after roadblock in accessing historical documents about their missing children. We understand that complex webs of privacy legislation and chronic underfunding are major causes of these delays. There is no easy solution to this problem; however, there are solutions. We applaud the Special Interlocutor and her team for bringing these issues to the forefront and echo their call for action. OSI-BIS Kimberly Murray