CANADA
CBC News
The Coroner’s Office in Ontario says it is willing to take another look at the death of a residential school student who died near Kenora more than 40 years ago.
Charlie Wenjack was 12-years-old, back in 1966, when his body was found near the railroad tracks. He was trying to walk hundreds of kilometres home to his father at Marten Falls First Nation.
Wenjack’s death garnered national media attention and was one of the first times ordinary Canadians caught a glimpse of trouble at residential schools. But his family had never seen the results of the inquest, they weren’t allowed to attend.
“No one has ever come to tell my mother why her son had to die,” said Pearl Achneepineskum, Wenjack’s sister. “She still waits to this day.”
CBC News obtained the hand-written copy of the inquest report.
The inquest jury asks, back in 1966, whether the “present Indian education and philosphy” is right. Wenjack’s sister Daisy Munroe said it’s a question still relevant today.
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