A funeral service will be held in Geraldton on Wednesday, September 6 for Agnes Wenjack, the mother of Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack.
She died in Geraldton District Hospital on Sept.1 at the age of 89.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Downie familiy issued a statement Tuesday expressing condolences to the Wenjack family and the community of Marten Falls First Nation.
NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said "Like many families whose children were lost to the Indian Residential School system, Agnes waited a lifetime for an explanation of why her son's brief life had to end the way it did. She never received an answer, but we pray she found some comfort having lived to see Chanie's story immortalized as a catalyst for reconciliation."
Twelve-year-old Chanie died in 1966 after fleeing the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School, hoping to walk to his home in Ogoki Post. His body was found the next day 60 kilometres north of Kenora.
The boy's story received national attention in a 1967 Maclean's magazine article, and interest was revived last year by singer Gord Downie's commemorative "Secret Path" multi-media project.
