Keewaywin First Nation press release

Finding Our Lost Family Members - Keewaywin First Nation plans for the return of family members taken from them by colonial governments and their agencies

Keewaywin First Nation - July 23, 2014 - Family members of Elijah Kakegamic want to bring him back to his home community so he can once again be close to his loved ones. Elijah was taken to the tuberculosis sanatorium in Thunder Bay in the 1950's by Health Canada and never heard from again. Now his family knows that he was buried in Thunder Bay on August 21, 1958 thanks to a chance web search by his great-granddaughter.

His family who lived in Sandy Lake First Nation at the time were never informed of what happened to Elijah after he left his home and family. They are now looking for the resources required to reunite Elijah with his family after more than a 50-year absence. Janice Kakepetum, his last living child, can now find closure after all these years to her lifelong search for her father.A July 21 CBC online article entitled, "Finding grave 'like winning the lottery' for Keewaywin family", highlights the excitement felt by members of Elijah's family when his grave was discovered.

Joe Meekis is Elijah's grandson. As a Keewaywin First Nation Band Councillor, he emphasizes the challenges faced by the family when it comes to properly addressing the needs of his family and community. "There are many people affected by the discovery of where my grandfather is buried. We are grateful that the Thunder Bay cemetery is now sharing online the names on the resting places of the people placed there. Having my daughter find her great-grandfather shows how everyone in our family wanted to find this missing part of our history. Now the unfinished work created by the government must be carefully completed by us to make sure everyone understands and supports the efforts to reunite my grandfather with his family, his community, and the land where he always lived before he was taken away from us." 

Keewaywin First Nation Chief Chris Kakegamic recognizes the implications ahead for everyone. "There are many people who would rather leave these types of painful experiences and losses in the past. But it was wrong for the government to treat our people in this way. The government apologized for their work in supporting the residential schools that took generations of children away from their homes and communities. Now it is time for the government to apologize for the pain they created when they took family members away for health reasons, never helping to return to their loved one."

A fundraising effort is now being undertaken lead by Joe and his family to raise the resources required to bring his grandfather's remains home. 

Everyone is invited to contact Joe Meekis at the Keewaywin First Nation Band Office at 807-771-1210 or by email at joemeekis@knet.ca to learn how to contribute to the Elijah Kakegamic Fund being established.

Reference: Porter, J. (2014). Finding grave 'like winning the lottery' for Keewaywin family. CBC News Online. Jul 21. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/finding-grave-like-winning-the...

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From CBC.ca

Finding grave 'like winning the lottery' for Keewaywin family

Joe Meekis makes plans to bring his grandfather's remains home to Keewaywin First Nation

By Jody Porter, Jul 21, 2014

Joe Meekis' grandfather was sent to the sanatorium in Thunder Bay in the 1950's and never heard from again. (Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre)

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After more than 50 years, Joe Meekis, from Keewaywin First Nation, finally knows where his grandfather is.

No one in the remote community in northwestern Ontario had heard from Elijah Kakegamic since he was sent to the tuberculosis sanatorium in Thunder Bay in the 1950s.

"We didn't know where he went or what happened to him," Meekis said. "There was no record of him anywhere."

Finally, modern technology came to the rescue. Meekis said his daughter did a Google search and Elijah turned up in the Mountain View Cemetery in Thunder Bay.

"We didn't know where he was, so to get that feeling 'we found him', it's like winning a lottery ticket," Meekis said. "We were ecstatic."

Meekis said he is now making plans to bring his grandfather's remains home for a proper burial in Keewaywin. He expects that will cost thousands of dollars and hopes a fund raising campaign will help pay for some of it.

"The important thing is we have one sibling [of Elijah's] that is still alive today," Meekis said. "And to be able to heal her in that way by returning him back here to his community. I can't imagine the feeling that will be."