May 27, 2026
Sixties Scoop Survivors and Indigenous leaders marched through Winnipeg Wednesday calling on the federal government to ensure long-term support for residential school investigations, healing and community programs.
The march through downtown came on National Day of Action, five years after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School.
At Oodena Circle Survivors shared stories of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, family separation, and the healing work still happening today.
“The pain did not end when the schools closed,” said Christina Kitchekesik, a residential school Survivor. “It lives in our families, it lives in our communities, and it lives in our spirits.”
Ava Halpin was eight years old in 1964 when she was taken from her family and sent to live with three different white families.
Halpin says programs supporting Survivors have helped many reconnect in a variety of ways.
“That is why we need to keep these programs going to help the survivors heal, to keep learning about who we are and stay connected, stay together,” Halpin said.
By late morning, hundreds walked from The Forks to the Manitoba Legislative Building where the focus shifted toward calls for continued federal funding tied to truth, healing, and investigations into children who never came home.
A national e-petition, sponsored in the House of Commons by Winnipeg MP Leah Gazan, calls for long-term support for Survivor healing, cultural supports, and community-led efforts connected to unmarked burial site investigations.
“We’ve been asking for answers from the federal government what is exactly happening with the funding and the services that we have been receiving as First Nations and our organizations, our communities, and we still have not received any commitment, and the messaging right now is that the funding is going to be sunsetting,” said Kyra Wilson, Grand Chief of Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
Leaders say they are concerned communities across the country could lose momentum in ongoing healing efforts and say reconciliation efforts cannot depend on temporary funding cycles.
“A hundred-and-fifty years of damage has been done and they’re trying to remove funding to support our people and continue to support healing programs,” said Grand Chief Garrison Settee of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc.
Wilson said the situation was not only in Manitoba but was across the country.
“What I would say to the federal government is that you have a duty and an obligation to make sure that our families continue to be supported,” Wilson said.
In a statement to CityNews, Maryéva Métellus, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) said, “Since June 2021, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada has provided funding to Indigenous communities and organizations across Canada as they undertake the difficult work—in their own way and at their own pace—to locate, document, and memorialize undocumented burial sites and graves at former residential school sites.”
“As of May 2026, CIRNAC has provided $284.2 million to 165 community-led initiatives for Calls to Action 74-76, including 76 community-led investigations at 89 of the 145 former residential schools,” she added.
Métellus said that the federal government funding is provided on a per-project basis.
“This is project-based funding, which means resources are provided for approved activities and must align with agreed-upon eligible costs and reporting requirements. Funding agreements are governed by established federal policies, including the Policy and Directive on Transfer Payments, which set out accountability and reporting expectations. Funding under the Residential Schools Missing Children – Community Support Fund is limited, and funding decisions take into account the needs of multiple communities across Canada who are taking on this critical work,” she added.
The petition remains open online, with organizers calling for long-term Indigenous-led and Survivor-centred funding.
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