Her appointment to the newly-created federal position, announced last week by Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada David Lametti and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller, will ensure any work done on unmarked and hidden graves at former residential schools will be done with culturally appropriate treatment.
For the past year, Murray served as the executive oversight lead of the Six Nations Survivors’ Secretariat, which was created to oversee the search for unmarked or hidden graves at the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford.
A search of the school yard began last fall using ground-penetrating radar. The investigation is being handled as a criminal matter jointly between the Six Nations Police, Brantford Police and OPP.
Murray, a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation, will begin her new role on June 14.
As the special interlocutor, Murray will work with Indigenous communities and survivors to “recommend a new federal legal framework to ensure the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment and protection of unmarked graves and burial sites of children at former residential schools” according to a press release from Six Nations of the Grand River.
The position is independent and non-partisan.
“I am pleased to see Kimberly Murray appointed to this role to continue the important work of bringing justice to our lost children and our Survivors,” said Six Nations Elected Chief Mark Hill. “She has done meaningful work with the Survivors’ Secretariat and we look forward to continuing to support her in her new role at the federal level.”
