THE STORY
A Song Became a Search
Songs 4 Reconciliation began with music, but it became something much more personal.
At the heart of this story is my uncle, who had been missing from our family story for 76 years.
The inspiration behind “Bring the Children Home” came from remembering Indigenous children who never returned home, the families who continued to carry their memories, and the importance of bringing their stories home.
For our family, those words became more than lyrics.
They became a question:
Where was my uncle?
Surviving photo of my uncle
The National Gathering of Unmarked Burials
The message of “Bring the Children Home” was shared at a national gathering.
The song was created to remember Indigenous children who never returned home and to create space for their stories and the families who continue to carry them.
During that journey, the story of my own uncle came forward.
What began as a song about remembering children became connected to our family's own search for someone who had been missing for 76 years.
Finding the Records
Kimberly Murray, serving as the Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools and the former Executive Director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, played a vital role in locating the church archives and certificate for my uncle. These essential discoveries helped our family pinpoint his burial location. After seventy-six years of searching, we finally found the closure of knowing his true resting place.
Commemorating His Resting Place
Finding the records was not the end of the journey.
It gave our family the opportunity to acknowledge and commemorate his resting place.
After so many years of uncertainty, we could finally know where he rested and honour his memory.
For me, this experience gave the words “Bring the Children Home” an even deeper meaning.
His resting place, commemorated with our family.
Sometimes bringing someone home does not mean physically bringing them somewhere.
Sometimes it means finding their name.
Finding their story.
Finding their records.
Finding where they rest.
And making sure they are remembered.
76 Years of Not Knowing
For 76 years, our family did not know where my uncle was resting.
We carried his memory, but we did not have a known resting place to visit or commemorate.
His story became part of my own journey with “Bring the Children Home” and the larger message of Songs 4 Reconciliation.
Reflections on the Journey
When I first created “Bring the Children Home,” I could not have known where the song would lead.
What began as a song of remembrance became connected to my own family’s story a 76 year search for my uncle.
Through that journey, we were able to find records, identify his resting place and finally commemorate him.
That experience changed the meaning of the song for me.
It reminded me that reconciliation can begin in many different ways. Sometimes it begins with listening. Sometimes with remembering. Sometimes with asking questions that have remained unanswered for generations.
And sometimes, it begins with a song.
I have come to understand that music can carry stories in a way that reaches people beyond words alone. It can create a moment for someone to pause, to remember, to learn something new, or to see a part of our shared history differently.
My uncle’s story will always be part of my journey.
His memory is part of why I continue to create, share and bring these songs to different audiences.
For me, Songs 4 Reconciliation is ultimately about people the people we remember, the people whose stories still need to be heard, and the relationships we continue to build.
The journey continues, and I am grateful for everyone who has listened along the way.