LAC SEUL FIRST NATION, ON — The federal and Ontario governments are committing additional funds for research and commemorative activities related to burial sites at Pelican Lake Residential School.
The school was established near Sioux Lookout in the late 1920s and was operated for several decades by the Anglican Church of Canada.
Last November, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) provided Lac Seul First Nation with an initial amount of $1 million to lead the research work.
CIRNAC has now confirmed another $6 million through the year 2024 for the project called Bringing Our Children Home.
It includes $552,000 to hire people to provide mental wellness human resources while the work is being conducted.
Ontario has provided $1.1 million, $400,000 in mental health funding.
Lac Seul First Nation is engaging with 33 affiliated communities to establish cultural and spiritual protocols for locating, documenting, mapping, maintaining and commemorating burial sites.
Chief Clifford Bull said the funding will allow the First Nation participants "to find the truth through meaningful involvement of the residential school survivors and their families."
Bull added "This means having an ongoing stable mental health, financial and human support system in place that will be critical as we delve into such a dark past."
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said the federal government will continue to support Indigenous communities "as their unique needs and priorities evolve, including Lac Seul First Nation, with their research and commemoration initiatives to heal from the devastating and lasting impacts of the Pelican Lake Residential School."
Ontario Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford said it's necessary for the province "to deepen its collective understanding of the legacy and intergenerational traumas caused by the Indian Residential School system."
