Our Teams
Outreach and Support Services
The Community Outreach and Support Services team is responsible for working with families and survivors to develop personalized after-care for those who participated in community hearings or advisory circles.
The Outreach and Support Services Team continues to build relationships with regional health support agencies throughout the country, including Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Workers. This allows local agencies to help support those participating in the National Inquiry. They also work with local Elders and Knowledge Keepers to make sure that culturally specific protocols are respected.
The Support Services Team has created a training path on trauma as it’s crucial that all members of the National Inquiry staff are trauma-informed. The Support Services Team is also responsible for making sure that members of the National Inquiry staff get the wellness they need. Many of our staff have been impacted by violence in one way or another, which increases their chances of being negatively affected by others’ trauma. If left unaddressed, this vicarious trauma can jeopardize the wellness of the very people who are tasked with fulfilling the National Inquiry’s goals.
Research
The Research Team gathers and analyzes key information on topics related to the National Inquiry’s mandate. Team members review existing materials and studies, conduct new research based on the National Inquiry’s identified knowledge gaps, and analyze evidence to support findings and recommendations. One of the Research Team’s most important responsibilities is creating the National Inquiry’s Interim and Final Reports.
The Research Team is also responsible for developing the National Inquiry’s commemoration, public education, and arts strategy. Team members are gathering and documenting works of art in all forms including written, performance, visual, and film, gifted to the National Inquiry.
The Research Team is also undertaking a youth-focused public education and art project called Their Voices Will Guide Us. This project is raising awareness around violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and includes course materials and resources to teach young people about Indigenous women’s power and place.
Legal
The Legal Team is responsible for providing legal advice to the Commissioners on matters relevant to the functioning and mandate of the National Inquiry.
It is also responsible for making sure that all relevant evidence is brought before the Commissioners at the Community, Institutional, and Expert Hearings. Team members work with family members and survivors to support them tell their stories to the National Inquiry.
They are also seeking opportunities to include Indigenous legal traditions in the Truth-Gathering Process.
The Legal Team also includes Statement Gatherers. These team members are responsible for gathering the testimonies and stories of individuals who register to share their truths as part of the National Inquiry’s Part 1 Truth Gathering Process. Statement Gatherers attend community hearings, community visits and special statement gathering events.
Communications
The Communications Team communicates the mandate, priorities, and actions of the National Inquiry to the general public. It is responsible for providing strategic advice to the Commissioners, executive director, and team directors on all media and public relations issues.
Team members develop communications strategies and action plans for external and internal communications initiatives. They also foster relationships with external organizations and partners in order to be transparent about the National Inquiry’s processes.
Operations
The Operations Team is in charge of planning, developing, and implementing the overall strategies needed to accomplish the work of the National Inquiry. It is in charge of administration, human resources, financial management, procurement (getting supplies or contracts for services in place), accommodations, security, telecommunications, and information management.
Logistics
The Logistics team is responsible for coordinating all the events of the Truth Gathering Process of the National Inquiry into MMIWG, as well as internal meetings. That includes the travel arrangements of the National Inquiry employees, family members, and Elders, as well as handling the on-the-ground arrangements with hotels and local contractors. The Logistic team also take care of the recording and broadcasting of the events, including their interpretation in both official languages and Indigenous languages when required.
The Logistics team works with vendors across the country to plan and carry out Hearings, statement gathering sessions, community visits and internal meetings.