EDMONTON — A decade since the monumental release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action, University of Alberta researcher Crystal Gail Fraser says much of the work to ensure meaningful reconciliation is still unfinished.
Released to the public on December 15, 2015, the 94 Calls to Action cover all areas of public life, including education, healthcare and justice. Its findings aim to address the impacts of Canadian policies on Indigenous peoples spanning generations.
Among the Calls to Action still awaiting meaningful progress, Fraser points to the gaps around missing children and unmarked burials (Calls 71–76). While the federal government has pledged to develop national policies, support Indigenous-led investigations and fund community efforts, progress remains uneven and under-resourced. Many communities still lack stable funding, forensic and archival support, and clear national standards to guide this work. Fraser says these gaps have real consequences for survivors, families, and Nations seeking answers and accountability.
“Ten years after the TRC, we have work to do,” says Fraser, who has served on the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and was a founding member of the National Advisory Committee on Missing Children and Unmarked Burials. “Survivors continue to lead our communities in truth-telling and in charting pathways for meaningful reconciliation. We’re honoured to support and uplift their voices.”
For more information or to schedule an interview with Crystal Gail Fraser, please contact:
Sarah Vernon | University of Alberta Media Relations Strategist | sarah.vernon@ualberta.ca
About Crystal Gail Fraser:
Crystal Gail Fraser is Gwichyà Gwich’in and an Associate Professor in the Department of History, Classics, & Religion and the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, researching northern Indigenous histories, with a focus on residential and day schooling, Indigenous childhoods, and the intersections of colonialism, education, and human rights. Originally from Inuvik and Dachan Choo Gèhnjik, Northwest Territories, she is the award-winning author of By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories (2024), and co-author of the forthcoming book Talk Treaty to Me: Understanding the Basics of Treaties and Land in Canada (2026).