Wednesday,July 14, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Jalen Codrington | Island Social Trends
More than 160 “undocumented and unmarked” graves have been confirmed on Penelakut Island, according to a statement from Penelakut Tribe Chief Joan Brown that was circulated on Monday.
“We are at another point in time where we must face the trauma because of these acts of genocide,” read the statement. “Each time we do, it is possible to heal a little more.”
The small island, formerly Kuper Island, is located off the coast of Chemainus, and home to the Kuper Island Industrial School. The school – operated by the Catholic Church and funded by the federal government – was notoriously harsh on students, and nicknamed “Canada’s Alcatraz.” Attendance was mandatory for children from the then Cowichan Indian Agency and adjacent Coast Salish peoples. The school was closed in 1975, and has since been demolished.
Indigenous survivors and researchers say large numbers of children died as a result of neglect, tuberculosis, meningitis, fires, and injuries sustained from beatings and rapes – and those deaths were never recorded. It is known that two sisters – Beverly and Patricia Marilyn Joseph – drowned while trying to flee the school in 1959, and another student died by suicide in 1966.
The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria apologized on Tuesday for his church’s role in operating the school. “The Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria grieves for the victims of the Kuper Island Residential School, and apologizes for its role in the operation of residential schools.”
Meanwhile, one of the school’s former employees, Glen William Doughty, has been of charged with numerous crimes including indecent assault on a male, gross indecency, and buggery. These incidents date from the 1960’s and 1970’s and involve 13 young people from age 6 to 18.
Cowichan Valley School District statement:
Today, Candace Spilsbury, Chair of the Board of Education for the Cowichan Valley School District (SD79), whose school district encompasses Penelakut Island, released a statement:
“As a district, and community, we have been grieving the loss of these stolen lives from the first announcement of their discoveries. While we have heard, known, and believed the testimony from survivors of Residential Schools, these discoveries are adding a sobering reality to the lived experiences of friends, families, staff, students, and the larger community,” she said.
The Penelakut Tribe is hosting a March for Children on August 2, beginning at 9 am starting at the Salish Sea Market on Oak Street in Chemainus. Healing sessions are scheduled on July 28 and August 4 at the Penelakut School gym for tribes’ members and neighbouring First Nations. An invitation to witness the truths at these sessions has been extended to non-Indigenous allies as well.
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 at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll free line at 1-800-721-0066.
Links =
Ceremony: bringing truth to atrocities of Indian Residential Schools (June 8, 2021)
Fast-tracked for Sept 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (June 8, 2021)
Premier Horgan horrified and heartbroken about burial site at former residential school (May 28, 2021)