National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) Five-Year Report

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) Five-Year Report, Pathways (November 2019), details the Centre's role as the permanent repository for over four million records collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), created to preserve the history and legacy of the residential school system and prevent denial of its profound injustices. Guided by its spirit name, bezhig miigwan ("one feather"), and Indigenous-led governance (including a Governing Circle and Survivors Circle), the NCTR prioritizes providing access to these archives for Survivors and their families, educating the public through partnerships and initiatives like the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, and advocating for key actions such as a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and the memorialization of children who never returned home. A major challenge outlined in the report is the legal struggle to preserve the highly sensitive Independent Assessment Process (IAP) records of abuse, which are slated for destruction by September 2027 unless Survivors explicitly consent to their preservation.