Thursday July 15, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Jalen Codrington, with Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation is calling on the federal government and the Catholic church to provide records and resources as the First Nation continues to uncover potential burial sites near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Chief Casimir called for “full and complete disclosure” of the records held by the Canadian government, and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (the wing of the Catholic Church that operated many of the schools).
The update comes almost two months after the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Most importantly, this was said: “We are loathe to put the responsibility of identifying those lost on the survivors of Kamloops Indian Residential school, who have been traumatized, and retraumatized already,” said Casimir.
More searching to come:
There remain almost 65 hectares of land left to search at the former school site before the total number of graves can be known, as Sarah Beaulieu, a professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, released in her initial findings today in a press conference hosted by the Tk’emlups te Secwepmc First Nation. The press conference was televised live on national television this morning.
More details about the process are coming to light. Beaulieu said it can challenging to know — prior to exhumation — whether a finding is a buried body or not (when there is no casket). The area searched has in the past held an apple orchard, and was chosen for the initial search in part because of the discovery of a child’s rib bone.
The BC response:
BC Premier John Horgan and BC Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin released a statement today, in response to the Tk’emlúps announcement.
“We are committed to supporting the vital work by First Nations at all residential school sites in BC. We have allocated $12 million in new funding for the research at former residential school sites and for the mental health and cultural supports for communities that are critical for healing. These resources will be available to those communities carrying out this work, including Tk’emlúps te Secwépec.”
Closer to home:
Earlier this week, the Penelakut Tribe in BC’s Southern Gulf Islands announced that more than 160 “undocumented and unmarked” graves have been found in the area, which was also once home to the Kuper Island Residential School.
Support:
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
===== LINKS:
- School district comments on 160 unmarked graves discovered on Penelakut Island (July 14, 2021)
- Captain Cook goes down amidst splashes of orange and red (July 2, 2021)
- Canada Day: a chance to brush up on Truth and Reconciliation (July 1, 2021)
- Ceremony: bringing truth to atrocities of Indian Residential Schools (June 8, 2021)
- Premier Horgan horrified and heartbroken about burial site at former residential school (May 28, 2021)
- Shock & awareness settles in across BC & Canada as 215 young lives remembered (May 21, 2021)
