Thunder Bay

Decades after his death, family repatriates First Nation man's remains 1,200 km back home

After decades of effort, Percy Onabigon's family is repatriating his remains back to Long Lake #58 First Nation in northern Ontario. He was buried more than 1,200 kilometres away after being taken to a residential school without his family's consent.

Percy Onabigon was taken to a residential school, hospitals without family's consent

Percy’s final journey: Indigenous man’s remains to be repatriated

3 days ago
Duration 2:04
Percy Onabigon’s family’s decades-long battle to reclaim his remains is almost over. Taken from home as a boy, he lived and died hundreds of kilometres away from his community, but his remains are set to be returned after a final forensic examination.

It's a day the Onabigon family has spent decades waiting for: the repatriation of their uncle, Percy Onabigon, back to Long Lake #58 First Nation.

Percy was taken from the northern Ontario community as a young child and put into St. Joseph's Indian Residential School in Thunder Bay. From there, he was sent to a number of hospitals and institutions, on account of being epileptic and partially paralyzed.

His family was never told where he was sent or what became of him after he was removed from St. Joseph's by a federal Indian agent.

After years of research and advocacy, Percy's niece, Claire Onabigon, found him: in a cemetery in Woodstock, Ont., more than 1,200 kilometres from home. He died at age 27 of tuberculosis at the Ontario Hospital.

On Thursday — the 59th anniversary of Percy's death — seven family members and a pipe carrier travelled to the southern Ontario city to exhume his remains.

People watch as someone is seen digging a grave.
Relatives watch as the remains of Percy Onabigon are exhumed from St. Mary's Cemetery in Woodstock, Ont. They are being sent to Ontario’s Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto before being reburied in Long Lake #58 First Nation. (Sarah Law/CBC)

But it wasn't easy; the family appealed to both the provincial and federal governments to cover the roughly $45,000 cost.

Because Percy died as an adult, not a child, the family was told the federal government would not provide coverage under the Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund.

After CBC News shared the Onabigons' story in September, the Ontario government offered to foot the bill. The money comes from the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation's Residential School Unit.

"This is not just about bringing Percy home — it is about repatriating an Ancestor, honouring the lives of all those affected by the Residential School system, and moving forward together with respect, dignity, and justice," ministry spokesperson Meaghan Evans told CBC News in an email.

For the Onabigons, though, it wasn't about the money; it was about the acknowledgement that Percy should never have been taken in the first place. 

WATCH | The fight to reclaim lost remains:

Bringing Percy home: The fight to reclaim a lost relative’s remains

8 months ago
Duration 5:28
Decades after Percy Onabigon was taken from his Northern Ontario First Nation at age six and placed in a residential school, his family says the government refuses to pay the repatriation costs for his remains.

"This has gone way beyond just our family and how we feel about it," said Claire. "[It has] also opened up other people's eyes and ears to what's happened to the Indigenous people of Canada, especially through the residential school system."

'Imagine how many more Percys there are'

Before the exhumation began, the family held a ceremony to honour Percy, which they never got to do when he died. About two dozen people were there, including chiefs, mental health workers, members of the Ontario Provincial Police and others who helped make the repatriation happen.

Simultaneously, a sacred fire and ceremony were held in Long Lake #58.

The Onabigons also gifted a medallion to Claire Sault, chief of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, for keeping Percy's remains safe in her traditional territory for so long.

A close-up of a beaded medallion in someone's hands.
Claire Sault, chief of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, holds a medallion gifted to her by the Onabigons for keeping Percy’s remains safe in her traditional territory for so many years. (Sarah Law/CBC)

"Imagine how many more Percys there are," Sault said. "[The family's] 20-year journey is extraordinary. Their perseverance to get the help they needed and to, most importantly, keep his memory alive."

Marcus Ryan, the warden of Oxford County, which includes Woodstock, says getting to know the Onabigons has been awe-inspiring.

"It's a real truth that there's a person in a grave here who was involuntarily taken from his community, from his nation, and sent to another part of the province without anybody's apparent permission," Ryan said.

"There is an actual real opportunity for meaningful truth and meaningful reconciliation, and we have to take every one of those opportunities."

'I never want to bring them home like this'

Truth and reconciliation are loaded words for Judy Desmoulin, chief of Long Lake #58 First Nation.

A person is seen standing outside, staring into the distance. They are wearing an orange flag around their shoulders.
Judy Desmoulin, chief of Long Lake #58 First Nation, says more needs to be done to prevent First Nations children from being separated from their families. (Sarah Law/CBC)

"I'm just not sure our country really knows what that truly means," she said. "This situation today is proof of our truth; Percy has provided that window of letting our truth be known."

What worries her is that First Nations children are still being taken from their families through the child welfare system, something she wants to see change.

"We're going through a really complex process finding our kids, bringing them home, and I never want to bring them home like this," she said as she pointed to Percy's grave. "It's definitely not over."

Anna Betty Achneepineskum is a deputy grand chief for Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations across Treaties 9 and 5. She echoes Desmoulin's concerns.

"We need to have the proper resources and the capacity to ensure that our children don't have to leave home, whether for school or through the child welfare system," Achneepineskum said.

Tobacco, sage and cedar are seen at a gravestone.
Tobacco, sage and cedar are seen at Percy's grave during the exhumation. (Sarah Law/CBC)

"We need to have the resources to be able to assist our families when they do search, and when they do want to bring their loved one home."

Calls for more federal support

Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 First Nations in Ontario, played a key role in advocating for the province to help support the Onabigons. Grand Chief Linda Debassige says now it's time for the federal government to step up, too.

"Canada, in our view, has an ethical, moral, and fiduciary obligation to help repatriate our ancestors who were taken to residential schools without the consent of their parents," Debassige said.

On the campaign trail, Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which includes support for Indigenous people to repatriate human remains.

But Debassige wants to see a firm commitment to implement the action items in Kimberly Murray's final report, released last fall.

A person is seen standing in front of a multi-colour metal canoe.
Kimberly Murray served as Canada’s independent special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves and burial sites associated with Indian residential schools. She is seen at the Spirit Garden in Toronto, which honours residential school survivors and children lost to their families and communities. (Sarah Law/CBC)

Murray served as Canada's independent special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves and burial sites associated with Indian Residential Schools.

Her report outlines 42 obligations for governments, churches and other institutions to follow, in order to implement an Indigenous-led Reparations Framework for Truth, Accountability, Justice, and Reconciliation.

Murray helped Claire research what happened to Percy, having recently discovered that he was in fact eight, not six, when he was taken to residential school, which speaks to "why it's so important for all the archives to be accessible to communities," she said.

"My message to the new prime minister is to implement the obligations … to continue to support communities and families and survivors that are searching for the missing and disappeared children, and to properly fund these investigations that communities are doing right now."

Percy's remains are being sent to Ontario's Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto, where an autopsy and DNA analysis will be conducted — though a forensic anthropologist who assisted with the exhumation says there are signs an autopsy has already been conducted.

The family says they were never told this, and have not been able to trace any documentation.

A pair of orange moccasins are seen on a blue blanket, along with a white pouch of tobacco and three printed photographs.
Percy's bundle, which will accompany his remains, includes tobacco, a pair of moccasins, his brother's blanket and photos of him, his twin and his parents. (Sarah Law/CBC)

The family plans to rebury Percy in Long Lake #58 this summer, beside his relatives. In sharing his story, they say they hope others receive the same support to bring their loved ones home.

"With all the support we had, it was made possible. So if we can do it, other families can do it, too," said Claire's brother, John O'Nabigon.

"Seeing all the support from everybody else, that people saw our cause for once and they wanted to help and they recognized that it was important," said Riley Taylor, Claire Onabigon's 16-year-old granddaughter.

"Because it is important, because it's our family — and just if it was anybody else's family, you'd want them to be home."


A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Law

Reporter

Sarah Law is a CBC News reporter based in Thunder Bay, Ont., and has also worked for newspapers and online publications elsewhere in the province. Have a story tip? You can reach her at sarah.law@cbc.ca