Bringing Our Children Home

Consult regularly with Chief & Council, Band Manager and the Survivors Group. Attend and support monthly MLWG meetings. Ensure all activities are Survivor-directed, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed. Provide mental health support referrals and maintain safe, supportive spaces for Survivors.

Identify, locate, and document missing children and potential burial sites linked to former Residential Schools. Conduct archival research using NCTR resources, Survivors’ narratives, church archives, historical texts, and Lead Communities’ knowledge. Share findings with Lead Nations (COTTFN, Six Nations), the NCTR, and other relevant partners. Participate in site visits, discoveries, and consultations with Lead Nations.

Develop a secure, community-owned digital archive for future generations. Create and maintain a user-friendly, searchable database. Prepare materials for submission to the NCTR repository. Work toward signing an MOA with NCTR; coordinate legal review and BCR requirements.

Organize open houses, presentations, information sessions, and cultural learning events. Support language classes, history seminars, and healing-focused workshops. Coordinate craft-based and cultural activities (e.g., rattles, canoe paddle making, corn husk dolls). Facilitate family history/genealogy programs, including scanning, printing, and labeling photo albums.

Represent Munsee Delaware Nation at national and regional gatherings related to Missing Children, unmarked burials, and Survivor testimony. Coordinate logistics for community participation (on-site sessions, Zoom/Teams access, meals, space setup). Attend gatherings such as Mohawk Institute Survivor Gatherings, Feathers of Hope, regional events, and knowledge-sharing conferences.

Gather quotes and prototypes from artisans; coordinate service agreements. Ensure the final commemoration is durable, meaningful, culturally informed, and potentially interactive.

Build relationships with Indigenous communities, Lead Nations, archives, libraries, and academic experts. Collaborate with KnowHistory, Survivors Secretariat, NCTR staff, and cultural knowledge keepers. Maintain communication with community members, youth, and neighbouring Nations.

Track funding streams (IRS Missing Children Community Support Fund, Engagement Fund, etc.). Prepare reports, updates, and documentation for leadership and partner organizations. Assist the group with fundraising initiatives (raffles, quilts, craft sales).