Chiefs want graves search sped up

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/08/2018 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling on the City of Brandon to do more to find the graves of approximately 50 residential schoolchildren buried in the Turtle Crossing campground, despite assurances work is underway to do just that.

In a statement released on Tuesday, AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas called the situation of people camping on the unmarked graves of innocent children “unacceptable” and referenced the campground owners, Mark and Joan Kovatch, by name.

“It is imperative that the City of Brandon work towards truth and reconciliation by ensuring that these children are identified and given a proper burial,” he said.

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Vincent Tacan, whose community is helping lead efforts to find the gravesites, said he has not spoken with the AMC. Sioux Valley, which is not a member of the AMC, owns the former Brandon Indian Residential School site northwest of the city, whose students are believed to have been buried in the area of what is now a campground.

“I don’t think we need the AMC,” Tacan said. “I’ve offered to talk to them on other issues regarding Child and Family (Services) and I was turned away, so I think that’s my answer. I think we can resolve this ourselves.”

In a statement, Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest said both governments, along with the landowner, have been meeting to find the “most appropriate and dignified solution.”

“The city and our Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council has been facilitating communications, and we will continue to stay involved to affect an outcome in keeping with the wishes of the First Nation and respecting the aspirations put forth in the Truth and Reconciliation (Commission of Canada) report,” Chrest said.

The mayor said he anticipates having the co-operation of senior levels of government and the AMC, as well. The parties plan to hold another meeting in mid-September.

“The city and Sioux Valley… have a constructive and positive framework to work together on this important matter, and I’m optimistic solutions can be found,” Chrest said.

Phone messages and emails requesting comment from Dumas were not returned.

Tuesday’s statements come on the heels of Free Press columnist Niigaan Sinclair addressing the Brandon matter in a column this past Saturday.

Tacan said he was upset about the column given discussions are happening with the city and others, and hoped it wouldn’t affect their ability to find a resolution.

“The cemetery that’s there was threatened once before, and now it’s degraded to the point where there’s no headstones, no crosses, no nothing,” he said. “So we need to fix that, and if people are putting up walls because of the article, then I don’t think that’s helpful.”

Turtle Crossing campground co-owner Mark Kovatch offered a similar take. “Any comments saying that nobody wants to do this or holding it up is just false. Everyone is working together to try and resolve the issue as best as possible.”

Turtle Crossing campground was previously owned by the City of Brandon, as Curran Park from 1972 to 2001. Kovatch and his wife, Joan, took ownership of the land in 2007.

The gravesite, believed to have been in use from 1895 to 1912, may hold as many as 51 students, according to a 2015 thesis from University of Manitoba student Katherine Lyndsay Nichols.

— Brandon Sun