'Colonial mindset' preventing return of child's remains to her community, says N.W.T. MLA

Natalie Pressman · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 4:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

WARNING: This communicative contains details that whitethorn beryllium distressing.

Some N.W.T. MLAs pressed the territory's civilization curate connected Thursday to waive authorities that they accidental is holding up efforts to instrumentality a deceased child's remains to her location community. 

The kid from Fort Smith, N.W.T. — identified lone arsenic Alma by the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation — died portion astatine residential schoolhouse successful the 1940s, according to the First Nation. Under the territory's Archaeological Sites Act, Alma's remains are considered artifacts since it's grounds of quality enactment from implicit 50 years agone and that means a licence would beryllium required to determination them.  

"Insisting that the remains of Indigenous children are taxable to Archaeological Sites Act reveals the aforesaid assemblage mindset that led to the instauration of the residential schoolhouse to statesman with," Richard Edjericon said, MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh.

Chief Louis Balsillie of Deninu Kųę́ First Nation has said that his community has been searching for unmarked graves of students of the erstwhile St. Joseph's residential schoolhouse successful Fort Resolution. It's a anticipation radical person talked astir for years successful the community.

Balsillie said earlier this twelvemonth that they've figured retired wherever Alma was buried, and that the assemblage wanted to assistance Alma's sister fulfil a committedness of returning Alma to Fort Smith to beryllium buried alongside her mother. 

In a quality merchandise Friday, helium said the First Nation would not beryllium applying for an archaeological permit.

"Our children are not artifacts," helium said. "We are calling for an probe by the coroner's office."

Edjericon, on with Yellowknife MLA Robert Hawkins, pressed the curate to contented a directive to override the Archaeological Sites Act and alternatively invoke the Coroners Act to allow the territory's coroner to exhume the remains for the purposes of an probe — thing Edjericon says is warranted since helium believes "there are superior reasons to doubt" that Alma died of tuberculosis, arsenic indicated connected her authoritative decease certificate.

The Deninu Kųę́ First Nation said successful a news merchandise earlier this week that the origin of decease for residential schoolhouse students was often said to beryllium tuberculosis, a "catch-all category." 

"However, these deaths are questionable according to elders (survivors) and archival records," the merchandise states.

Indigenous radical not 'property of the state,' MLA says 

Hawkins says that under the Archaeological Sites Act, Alma is considered a "thing." 

"And if she is simply a thing, she becomes a spot of the state. And if she becomes a spot of the state, what symbolism does that represent, that Indigenous radical are a spot of the state?" Hawkins said.

Caitlin Cleveland, the curate of Education, Culture and Employment, emphasized that neither she nor her department wants to basal successful the mode of Alma's remains, oregon those of anyone else, being returned to their community. But she said she needs to travel the instrumentality and she doesn't person the authorization to contented a directive arsenic suggested by Edjericon and Hawkins.  

The Archaeological Sites Act came into unit successful 2014 and Cleveland said the territory is successful the process of updating the legislation. She said it wasn't drafted to addresses cases similar these but the territory is moving to marque improvements.

"This enactment does usage the word 'artifact,' but successful nary way, signifier oregon signifier is the respect oregon dignity of this process, oregon the value of this process, diminished due to the fact that of that," she said. 

"There is simply a tendency to guarantee that respect is being afforded to each Indigenous radical of this territory and Nunavut who whitethorn person household who are buried astatine the sites of our residential schools successful this territory."

Cleveland besides said that if the assemblage knows the individuality of the idiosyncratic and it is intelligibly marked, the Archaeological Sites Act does not apply. It's not wide however the assemblage would beryllium that individual's identity. 

Edjericon said that helium was "saddened" by Cleveland's effect and said that authorities policies were overriding treaties and Indigenous values. 

Caroline Wawzonek, acting as premier successful R.J. Simpson's absence, called a constituent of bid connected those comments. She said Edjericon had overstepped and made inferences astir the minister's intentions and the process, imputing antagonistic motives erstwhile the issue is important to each of the assembly's members. 

"It's not a characterization of enactment that's happened connected this file, that's been described successful this House today," Wawzonek said.  

"It's not just and it's not proper."

Speaker Shane Thompson agreed with Wawzonek successful his ruling and Edjericon retracted his comments. 

Support is disposable for anyone affected by their acquisition astatine residential schools oregon by the latest reports.

A nationalist Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been acceptable up to supply enactment for survivors and those affected. People tin entree affectional and situation referral services by calling the 24-hour nationalist situation line: 1-866-925-4419.

Mental wellness counselling and situation enactment is besides disposable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week done the Hope for Wellness hotline astatine 1-855-242-3310 oregon by online chat astatine www.hopeforwellness.ca.