By Canadian Press

Guatemala-based group extends hand on First Nations’ residential school searches

Aug 4, 2023 | 10:38 AM

OTTAWA — A Guatemala-based forensic anthropology organization is extending its hand to Indigenous Peoples in Canada looking to potentially recover remains of children on the grounds of former residential schools.

Fredy Peccerelli, a founding member of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, has been working for years to bring home bodies of the “disappeared” — those who died in the 36-year civil war in Guatemala.

Peccerelli says their Indigenous-led excavations identify on average as many as 125 loved ones per year, returning remains to family members and communities.

He says Indigenous Peoples in Canada should develop their own forensics team without government involvement, similar to the organization’s work in Guatemala.

He adds his organization has worked with groups in Mexico and Rwanda to train people on how to collect DNA, excavate graves and repatriate remains, and is willing to do the same in Canada.

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The organization’s work has been cited by Kimberly Murray, Canada’s special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves and burial sites, as an example of what could happen in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2023.

The Canadian Press