The federal government named Mohawk lawyer Kimberly Murray its special interlocutor to work with Indigenous communities on the protection of unmarked graves and burial sites near former residential schools, Nunatsiaq News reports.

Justice Minister David Lametti and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller announced the appointment Wednesday in Ottawa.

Murray — a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation and former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — will meet with First Nations, Inuit and Métis community members to discuss the ongoing investigation into unmarked graves, as well as the protection and preservation of burial sites.

Ottawa gave her a $10.4-million budget, a two-year term and the task of working in a non-partisan manner. Murray will help Indigenous groups navigate the legal and government systems.

There were 139 residential schools across Canada from the 1870s until 1996. Thirteen schools operated at various times in what is now Nunavut and there were four in Nunavik.