The Manitoba government has outlined how it will distribute $2.5 million it promised last year to help find and commemorate unmarked graves at former residential schools.

The money is to be shared between Indigenous groups, including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Manitoba Inuit Association.

The Progressive Conservative government says the search for children who died while attending residential schools must be Indigenous-led.

Premier Heather Stefanson says it is the province's duty to help Indigenous people reclaim children whose ties with their families were severed by residential schools.

The announcement was made at a ceremony where survivors said Canadians need to know the full truth about the effects the schools have had.

In Manitoba, there are about a dozen sites where First Nations are searching or planning to search for unmarked graves using ground-penetrating radar.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2022.