The RCMP in New Brunswick lowered their flag half mast to mourn 215 Indigenous children discovered in an unmarked grave in a Residential School. Property of Public account RCMP New Brunswick, (May 31st, 2021).
An indigenous community in western Canada has found the remains of almost 200 people buried on the grounds of a former residential school, increasing the count of unmarked grave sites across Canada.
The Lower Kootenay Band revealed on Wednesday that ground-penetrating radar had uncovered 182 remains at St. Eugene’s Mission residential school, near the city of Crankbrook, British Columbia with some of the remains buried in shallow graves.
About a week ago, the Cowessess First Nation reported that it has found 751 unmarked graves in Saskatchewan at the Marieval Indian Residential School that operated between 1899 to 1997.
The Marieval Indian Residential School was one of more than 130 mandatory boarding schools funded by the Canadian government and operated by religious leaders during the 19th and 20th Centuries with the goal of assimilating indigenous youth.
The revelations have angered many Indigenous communities across Canada with growing calls to cancel Canada Day celebrations on July 1.
The two revelations are in addition to recently discovered 215 unmarked graves in British Columbia at Kamloops Indian residential school.
The Canadian government has apologized and acknowledged the sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect that happened within these residential schools.
Those who have experienced the trauma of this time are coming forward to share their stories. People all over Toronto gathered to honour the death of these children, as reconciliation processes continuous to be discussed including a move by the federal government to allow Indigenous families reassert their names on passports and other government-issued IDs .
The Catholic is now being asked to apologize, release all artifacts that may belong to indigenous populations along with releasing all records related to residential schools.
Researchers from the Department of History at the University of New Brunswick, Ekwpahak|Fredericton, on unceded Wəlastəkwihkok territory, are also aiding to retrieve artifacts, historical data and genealogical records as Canada works to accelerate reconciliation with First Nation peoples.
Related Stories:
- Doctors in Toronto demand apology from the catholic Church for their role in the residential school system
- Ontario commits 10 million dollars to investigate and protect residential burial school sites
- Deepening calls to search for Canada’s Indigenous unmarked grave sites after a grim discovery
Analysis
“This tragic discovery is a stark reminder of our duty to heal the wounds from this horrific part of our history,” stated Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole. The call is noble however, political leaders shy away from full ownership, and Indigenous people continue to fight for their right to reconciliation.
Winnipeg NDP MP Leah Gazan, a member of Saskatchewan’s Wood Mountain Lakota Nation stated, “genocide is genocide. If we want to reconcile in this country, then we need to own the truth,”