Marie Speakman was five years old when her grandfather hugged and kissed her for the last time.

After boarding a plane in Deline, 72-year-old Augustine Sewi was flown to EdmontonSA国际影视传媒檚 Charles Camsell Hospital for tuberculosis treatment in 1962.

He was one of many Dene and Inuit people torn from their families, communities and culture during the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 forced relocation of TB patients in the 1950s and '60s.

Speakman never saw him again.

Sewi died just days after arriving in Edmonton.

Speakman and her mother were never notified of his death. They spent years consumed by the unknown SA国际影视传媒� painfully pondering his fate.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e always wondered and wondered. My mom was left with a missing person SA国际影视传媒� no information,SA国际影视传媒� said Speakman, who now lives in Yellowknife.

Nearly 60 years later, she's still seeking answers.

In 2007, after decades of uncertainty, Speakman connected with an oblate priest who had spent years in the Sahtu region. Then retired and living in St. Albert, Alta., the priest brought Speakman to where her grandfather was buried SA国际影视传媒� the Mount Pleasant Cemetery located west of Edmonton.

A monument commemorating those buried at the site SA国际影视传媒� the Enoch and Indigenous people from the Northwest Territories SA国际影视传媒� stood at the grounds.

But SewiSA国际影视传媒檚 name was nowhere to be found. There was no headstone. No cross.

Now, more than a decade after her first visit, Speakman still doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 know where her grandfather is buried in the vast field.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 like youSA国际影视传媒檙e going there feeling numb SA国际影视传媒� lots of mixed feelings.YouSA国际影视传媒檙e standing there and your grandpa is buried there. But where? Where are you able to place flowers? A monument? At least a cross?,SA国际影视传媒� said Speakman.

Last year, she visited the site with her daughters.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e looking to the air. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e looking to the field with no cross, no headstone. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e just looking at the grass SA国际影视传媒� trees and grass and a steel fence. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 all weSA国际影视传媒檙e looking at,SA国际影视传媒� said Speakman, fighting back tears.

After countless phone calls and hours searching online, Speakman recently obtained her grandfatherSA国际影视传媒檚 medical records from Charles Camsell Hospital, documents she shared with her sisters.

But the long-awaited findings left her with even more questions.

Speakman learned the results of SewiSA国际影视传媒檚 autopsy were left as SA国际影视传媒減ending,SA国际影视传媒� and that officials had noted there was no family to relay the news of his death to, despite his many relatives anxiously awaiting word in Deline.

Speakman said she often thinks of what her grandfather experienced at the Edmonton hospital SA国际影视传媒� alone in a strange place, unable to understand the English-speak doctors.
SA国际影视传媒淕od knows how he was treated,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Speakman wants the government to acknowledge its wrongdoing.

SA国际影视传媒淭he government has a responsibility,SA国际影视传媒� she said, adding the federal government, GNWT and Government of Alberta all need to take accountability for the forced relocation of her grandfather and many others.

Charles Camsell Hospital is one of 29 government-operated SA国际影视传媒淚ndian HospitalsSA国际影视传媒� named in a $1.1 billion class action lawsuit launched in January 2018 on behalf of former patients.

The lawsuit alleges patients faced rampant mistreatment, including physical and sexual abuse, while being isolated in overcrowded and dilapidated facilities across Canada.

Speakman, who is not a party to the lawsuit, notes her grandfather isnSA国际影视传媒檛 alive to tell his story.

Speakman hopes her quest for answers will help other families in the North doing the same.

SheSA国际影视传媒檇 like to see a formal apology to the Dene people from the Canadian government.

In March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for the SA国际影视传媒渃olonialSA国际影视传媒� mistreatment of Inuit who were sent to southern hospitals for tuberculosis during the 1950s and '60s. The long-awaited gesture renewed calls for an apology to Dene people who suffered the same fate.

Speakman is calling for an apology to the Dene, but also some form of compensation.

Her visit to her grandfatherSA国际影视传媒檚 gravesite are expensive, and sheSA国际影视传媒檚 been bringing along relatives from communities that canSA国际影视传媒檛 afford to make the costly trip on their own.

Dene Nation chief pushing for federal apology

Dene National Chief Norman Yakeleya says heSA国际影视传媒檚 pushing for both an apology and compensation from the federal government.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e in a period of national reconciliation and the apology we are seeking is to correct the wrongs of the past,SA国际影视传媒� Yakeleya told News/North. SA国际影视传媒淭he injustice at the time, the way Native people were treated, itSA国际影视传媒檚 almost criminal.SA国际影视传媒�

Yakeleya said the federal government needs to look at an overall compensation package for relatives impacted by the forced relocation of Dene people to southern hospitals, so that family members can have the resources and support to not only find their loved ones, but to honour them with a proper ceremony.

SA国际影视传媒淭hatSA国际影视传媒檚 why weSA国际影视传媒檙e asking the prime minister and the new ministers not to forget the patients at Charles Camsell Hospital,SA国际影视传媒� said Yakeleya.

Ultimately, Yakeleya wants the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 past wrongdoings to be confronted and explored in a national inquiry to bring peace to families and turn the page on a dark chapter in Canadian history.