Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 19/02) - Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, will attend a wrap-up conference in Yellowknife on Friday held by the Grollier Hall Residential School Healing Circle.

"She's very interested, very keen in meeting these men with their spouses and talking about the process of what they went through," said Norman Yakeleya, the healing circle's executive director.

The 28 former students who attended the residential school during the 1960's and 1970's will be receiving formal apologies from the federal and territorial governments as well as the Roman Catholic Church for the abuse they experienced from supervisors in Inuvik.

"We have come to an end, to put closure to the things that happened at Grollier Hall. It's another chapter in this whole chapter to resolve these out of court claims," said Yakeleya.

After three and a half years, a resolution has been reached between the co-disputants, the federal and territorial governments as well as the Roman Catholic Church of the Mackenzie Valley Diocese.

This historic event will focus on reviewing the historical residential school process, the reconciliation, as well as a memorialization process.

Other dignitaries like Premier Stephen Kakfwi and church representatives will also be in attendance.

Gov. Gen. Clarkson will be Yellowknife for three days starting June 19. Along with the wrap-up conference, she is to attend a National interest symposium at the Regency Explorer Hotel on better understanding how the Northwest Territories has changed as well as several other events including, story-telling in Somba K'e Park and Beneath the Dancing Sky, a fashion and cultural gala at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre on Wednesday night.