Mohawk Institute is creating a Survivors’ Secretariat to commence a death/criminal investigation. The Mandate of the Survivors’ Secretariat includes coordinating death investigation processes and protocols, conducting Statement Gathering, document collection and historical research, supporting commemoration initiatives, and liaising with First Nations, provincial, and federal governments.

The Survivors’ Secretariat is currently working to put in place an Indigenous Human Rights Monitor and a Cultural Monitor to oversee the work of the Joint Police Task Force.  Survivors and community members have been clear, the Joint Police Task Force must be Survivor-led.  These two monitoring roles, once in place, are essential to ensuring that Indigenous legal principles, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and cultural protocols are respected.