To honour the 215 children whose remains were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation Territory, the Town of Huntsville has lowered the Canadian flag to half mast at all municipal facilities.
The childrens’ remains were confirmed last weekend, and are suspected to be undocumented deaths, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said.
The residential school operated from 1890 to 1969, at which point the federal government took it over from the Catholic Church and operated it as a residence for a day school until it was closed in 1978.
According to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), up to 500 students would have been registered at the school. Canada’s last residential school closed in 1996. It’s estimated that more than 150,000 children attended residential schools beginning in the 1830s.
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I am surprised that so many people seem surprised by this finding.
This is our national embarrassment, not something that can be washed away as history and in the past. The lingering effects are generational and have taken a horrendous toll on indigenous peoples.
The sooner the government, the Catholic church, the Anglican church and others involved admit responsibility and take appropriate measures to make amends, only then can we move forward as a united country.
This is the Canadian Holocaust, and should be treated as such.
Should be happening right across the country!
Absolutely the right thing to do to honour these innocent lives taken!