1 year since the recovery of the remains of 215 children in Kamloops B.C
One Year Ago Today
A mass grave was found on May 27th, 2021 at a residential school in British Columbia that contained the remains of 215 Indigenous children.
Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation is working with museum specialists and the coroner's office to establish the causes and timings of deaths - which are currently not known.
The death of these children and the mass grave were never documented by the school's administrators.
These ‘schools’ were funded by the Canadian government and were staffed and administered by various churches.
Some of the children found are as young as three years old.
Yes, it’s been 1 year since the remains of 215 Indigenous children were recovered in Kamloops B.C, but…
it has also been 7 years since a road map to Truth and Reconciliation was given to the Canadian Government. And 400+ years of ongoing violence, deceit, and theft by original and present-day colonizers.
Everything you were angry and heartbroken about 1 year ago today — is still true today. In fact, they’ve recovered more bodies, with more to come. The fixation on this number of bodies recovered is nauseating. One child in an unmarked grave outside a school is too many. More than 200 is fucking disgusting.
What has changed in Canada since we recovered the bodies of 215 children — some as young as 3! — in unmarked graves outside a state-sanctioned and funded residential “school”? How have non-Indigenous people, our leaders and our government changed how they operate?
Have we made substantial progress on the 94 Calls to Action?
Have we ensured the basic needs of every Indigenous person?
Have Canada and Canadians been better treaty partners?
0 for 3 Canada.
Our country did this
Our country, in partnership with various churches, plotted to systematically destroy Indigenous families.
Our country sanctioned experiments on these children.
Our country killed these children, and anyone who tries to minimize this fact is centring white comfort over truth.
Want to hear something even more disgusting? We’re STILL harming and killing Indigenous folk. And it won’t even make the news.
There is an ongoing genocide of MMIWG2S that is largely ignored.
Indigenous folk remain overrepresented in the legal and child welfare systems.
And we continue to fail to meet the basic needs, including food security and clean water which are directly correlated with a person’s health.
In the future, when Canadians look back to this time, how do you think they’ll write about our treatment of Indigenous people today?
Will it be any different than how we refer to the people who tore apart families, killed and abused these children?
What do you want our legacy to be in Canada?
And what are YOU going to do about it?
Photo by Gabriel Dalton on Unsplash
Next Steps for Treaty Partners
When you vote and participate in our democracy, centre Indigenous justice.
Head to www.oncanadaproject.ca/settlerstakeaction to keep learning and unlearning about Canada’s historical and ongoing violence against Indigenous communities.
Go to www.oncanadaproject.ca/findyourrep to find your elected representative and email them about the 94 Calls to Action — ask them how they are personally committed to truth and reconciliation, how their party is, how they plan to advocate for it and what the fuck is taking so long?
Be public with your solidarity.
Hire, support, and buy from Indigenous leaders, creators, people and organizations.
More steps are available on our website: www.oncanadaproject.ca/settlerstakeaction
