About the Innovator

The CAAWGUG is composed of 15 scholars from across Canada, from within institutions of higher learning and Indigenous communities. Their collective awards are considerable. The committee chair, Dr. Kisha Supernant (Department of Anthropology (ualberta.ca) | Kisha Supernant | Edmonton), is a member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars and a Dorothy Killam Fellow. The nomination lead, Dr. Andrew Martindale (Andrew Martindale - Department of Anthropology (ubc.ca)) is the recipient of numerous SSHRC grants, a Killam Research Prize, and is this year’s recipient of the SSHRC Impact Award (Connections). The CAAWGUG was formed in May 2021 and, drawing on many years of experience searching for missing children from residential schools, developed guidance for Indigenous communities conducting searches. By 2022, this included overviews and detailed technical documents in video and written form as well as course and training materials for survivors, their families, and their communities. The CAAWGUG continues to lead the nation with guidance, training, support and assistance for communities conducting searches from children who disappeared from residential schools. Dr. Kisha Supernant (Chair), Dr. Andrew Martindale, Dr. Lisa Hodgetts, Dr. Sarah Beaulieu, Dr. Adrian Burke, Ms. Micaela Champagne, Dr. Terence Clark, Mr. Stephen Daniel, Dr. Peter Dawson, Mr. Edward Eastaugh, Dr. Colin Grier, Dr. Scott Hamilton, Ms. Sarah Hazell, Mr. Joshua Murphy, Mr. William Wadsworth.