NAC Resources
Content warning: The content on this page deals with residential and boarding schools, the death and disappearance of children, child abuse, genocide, and intergenerational trauma. The National Residential School Crisis Line is available at all times, free of charge: 1-866-925-4419. Free support is also available through the Hope for Wellness chatline at 1-800-721-0066 or using the chat box on the Hope for Wellness website.
This resource page is designed to provide some information from the NAC and external sources for communities who are planning and leading their searches. Most of these resources are available in English only.
Content on this page is divided into the following categories:
NAC Overview
National Advisory Committee on Residential School Missing Children and Unmarked Burials
A short, accessible summary explaining the possible components of a search process and key considerations in developing a search plan.
Brief responses to some of the questions we have heard most often from communities considering undertaking a search.
Searches and Ground Searches
Canadian Archaeological Association
Recommended Pathway for Locating Unmarked Graves Around Residential Schools
This can be used as a guide to develop a Scope of Work that focuses on the application of remote sensing to locate unmarked graves associated with Indian Residential Schools and at related institutions.
Webinar: Finding the Relatives: Wise Practices for Research Design in Western Canada
Features National Advisory Committee member Kisha Supernant.
Canadian Archaeological Association Working Group on Unmarked Graves
Searching For Missing Children: A Guide to Unmarked Graves Investigations
A Guide to Unmarked Graves Investigations.
Institute for Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology
Community Resources Guide for Unmarked Graves Research
A short introductory guide that sets out key factors to consider when starting a search process, including a recommended workflow. The primary focus is on the prairie region.
What is Ground Penetrating Radar?
A Q&A plus Frequently Asked Questions explaining the technology and its costs.
Geophysics and Unmarked Graves: A Short Introduction for Communities
A concise overview of the benefits and limitations of ground penetrating radar, examples of the kind of information that can be produced, a comparison with other technologies, and links to resources. Also includes a flowchart about how to prepare for a search.
Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology and the Canadian Archaeological Association
Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, Canadian Archaeological Association and the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology
Archaeological Prospection
The Challenges of Signal Interpretation in Burials in Ground Penetrating Radar
Review of emerging best practices in interpreting GPR data in the search for unmarked burials.
Survivors’ Secretariat
Blog Post – How Technology Is Helping Survivors Uncover the Truth
A Q&A style introduction to two ground search technologies, LiDAR and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and how they are being used by communities, as well as some of the limitations of these technologies.
Government of Alberta
Resource Guide for Researching and Recognizing Residential School
Provides links for provincial residential school records, resources related to heritage designation and other ways to protect sites, and provincial funding sources.
University of British Columbia
Illustrated: Locating Burials Using GPR
Illustrations demonstrating how ground-penetrating radar is used. More illustrations are added regularly. This collection is freely available for use by anyone involved in this work.
British Columbia Technical Working Group on Missing Children and Unmarked Burials
Overview Technical Guidance for Communities
The BC working group is preparing a series of short introductory articles addressing key elements of the search process.
Community Health & Well-Being
First Nations Health Authority
Residential Schools Gathering and Ceremony Guide
The BC First Nations Health Authority has produced a short guide to ceremony, protocol and other aspects of community health and well-being that should be considered at all stages of carrying out a search.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Lessons Learned: Survivor Perspectives
Based on Survivor accounts of their experiences with the various components of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, this report highlights some of the critical elements of a trauma informed approach to knowledge gathering with Survivors.
Research and Archives
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) is the caretaker for more than four million records, including all the records gathered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) during its mandate. The NCTR provides online access to all those records once they are cleared for public release. The NCTR has also established processes for Survivors, their families, and researchers to access records that remain confidential. The website includes video tutorials on how to use the database for various kinds of searches.
Know History and the Survivors’ Secretariat
Researching the Missing Children: An Introduction to Conducting an Archival Research Project
Explains the different ways historical documents can be used in the search for missing children and how such documents can be accessed.
Survivors’ Secretariat
Provides a short overview of the kind of information found in archives and its importance in finding missing children and unmarked burials.
Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology
Archival Materials Research Guide for Residential School Records
A short guide to locating useful information that may already be stored in various archives and libraries, including residential school records, genealogical records, and land use records. The guide includes tips for handling data and links to key archives and to professional archivists specializing in this area.
Dr. Ave Dersch, Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology
Resource Guide for the Collection of Oral History in Relation to the Search for IRS Unmarked Burials
A short overview of factors to consider when collecting oral testimony. Includes sample questions and a template for a consent form.
Library and Archives Canada
Library Archives Canada is the official national repository of all records related to the federal government and federal institutions, as well as a vast collection of other records related to Canadian history. There is a specific portal for accessing residential school records and a guide to the kinds of records that are accessible through their database.
Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia provides a point of access to digitized records related to residential schools in British Columbia. These records are drawn from a wide range of sources including church archives, Legacy of Hope Foundation, Libraries and Archives Canada, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Royal BC Museum and Archives. Researchers wanting guidance on finding records in specific subject areas are encouraged to contact the center.
First Nations Information Governance Centre
OCAP: First Nations Principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Protection
A tool to support First Nations governance of data, supported by extensive educational materials such as videos and factsheets.
Training
Institute for Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology
Training Resources for Archaeological Remote Sensing
A guide to freely available technical resources, including textbooks and online courses, covering topics such as research design, ground penetrating radar, and computer science.
University of British Columbia
Ground Penetrating Radar Course for Indigenous Communities
A guide to freely available technical resources, including textbooks and online courses, covering topics such as research design, ground penetrating radar, and computer science.
Forensics and Identification
National Advisory Committee
Forensics and the Search for Residential Schools Missing Children
A short overview about the identification of human remains and the role of forensic sciences.
When Unmarked Burials are Found: Possible Options for Next Steps
A short overview of options such as exhuming and moving buried individuals, with notes on Canadian law, respect for Indigenous protocols, the limitations of anthropological science, and other considerations.
Protection and Repatriation
Haida Gwaii Museum and the Royal BC Museum
The Indigenous Repatriation Handbook
The Indigenous Repatriation Handbook, published by the Haida Gwaii Museum and the Royal BC Museum, provides a guide to the legal and technical issues around repatriation of human remains, as well as the return of cultural heritage and other sacred items.
First Peoples’ Cultural Council
The Indigenous Cultural Heritage Stewardship Toolkit
The Indigenous Cultural Heritage Stewardship Toolkit provides a “blueprint” – including best practices, guidelines and training resources – for protecting, revitalizing and celebrating Indigenous cultural heritage. The toolkit is relevant to the protection of potential burial sites and other archaeological sites, as well as cultural objects that may be associated with the missing children.
Organizations
Canadian Archaeological Association
The Canadian Archaeological Association established a Working Group on Unmarked Graves in 2021.
The Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology
The Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology (IPIA) is an Indigenous-led institute that supports Indigenous peoples in carrying out archaeological research and protecting physical heritage. In addition to a number of resources linked in this guide, the Institute has created this map of experts in archaeology related to unmarked graves.
Survivors’ Secretariat
The Survivors’ Secretariat was established by Survivors of the Mohawk Institute (Six Nations) “to organize and support efforts to uncover, document and share the truth about what happened at the Mohawk Institute during its 136 years of operation.” The Survivors’ Secretariat employs a Human Rights Monitor to oversee the multi-jurisdictional task force currently investigating unmarked burials related to the Institute.
Funding Sources
Federal Government
Residential Schools Missing Children – Community Support Funding
Funding source by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program
Funding source by Indigenous Services Canada.
Commemorating the History and Legacy of Residential Schools
Funding source by Parks Canada.
Indigenous-Led Funds
Na-mi-quai-ni-mak (I Remember Them) Community Healing Fund
A Survivor-led fund for community-based healing, administered by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Supports organizations engaged in healing and reconciliation activities.
NCTR’s spirit name – bezhig miigwan, meaning “one feather”.
Bezhig miigwan calls upon us to see each Survivor coming to the NCTR as a single eagle feather and to show those Survivors the same respect and attention an eagle feather deserves. It also teaches we are all in this together — we are all one, connected, and it is vital to work together to achieve reconciliation.