Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor

for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools

Interim Report Released

The Independent Special Interlocutor’s Interim Report, “Sacred Responsibility: Searching for the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials,” was released on June 16, 2023.

This Report identifies the Common Concerns that Survivors, Indigenous families, and communities have identified as they search and recover the missing children and unmarked burials. The Report also details the Independent Special Interlocutor’s 48 Findings based on these Common Concerns.

View The Interim Report

Vancouver National Gathering Summary Report

The Summary Report of the National Gathering on Unmarked Burials: Affirming Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Community Control over Knowledge and Information, Vancouver, British Columbia is available to download

View The Vancouver Summary Report

Submission to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The Independent Special Interlocutor has provided a submission for consideration on monitoring mechanisms at the national and regional levels for the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Read the submission

Independent Special Interlocutor encouraged by historic Settlement Agreement

The Agreement initiates an investigation to search for unmarked graves and burials at the site of the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Allan Memorial Institute.

View Rectified Settlement Agreement View Press Release

OSI and NCTR Joint Review of the ICMP/CIRNAC Technical Arrangement

The Independent Special Interlocutor has provided feedback on the Technical Arrangement between the Government of Canada and the International Commission on Missing Persons.

Read the Joint Review

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Engaging and supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Survivors, Elders, families, and communities as they search for the missing children and unmarked graves and burial sites associated with former Indian Residential Schools.

The Independent Special Interlocutor has the crucial responsibility of making recommendations to improve Canada’s legal processes to help identify and protect the unmarked graves and burial sites associated with former Indian Residential Schools across the country.

The Office of the Special Interlocutor (OSI) is working with Indigenous Peoples, organizations and communities, as well as representatives of the Government of Canada, to identify the gaps in the current legal framework. Recommendations for a new federal framework will be made to ensure that the bodies and Spirits of the children are treated with honour, respect and dignity.

Meet the Independent Special Interlocutor

“I am honoured to have been entrusted with this important responsibility of being the Special Interlocutor. I am committed to supporting the work of Survivors and Indigenous communities to protect, locate, identify, repatriate, and commemorate the children who died while being forced to attend Indian Residential Schools. I pledge to do this work using my heart and my mind in a way that honours the memories of the children who never made it home.”

Kimberly Murray, BA, LLB, LLM, IPC, LLD (h.c.)

Read Kimberly's bio