Canada pledges to support efforts to find more school gravesites

2 June 2021, 17:44

Flowers, children’s shoes and other items at a memorial at the Eternal flame on Parliament Hill in Ottawa
Canada-Indigenous-School-Deaths Memorial. Picture: PA

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the government will help preserve gravesites and search for potential unmarked burial grounds at other schools.

A Canadian cabinet minister has pledged again to support efforts to find more unmarked graves at former residential schools for indigenous students after the remains of 215 children were located at what was once Canada’s largest such school.

The comments from indigenous relations minister Carolyn Bennett come as First Nations leaders called for an examination of other former residential schools – institutions that held indigenous children taken from families across the nation.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia has said the remains of 215 children were confirmed last month at the school in Kamloops, British Columbia, with the help of ground-penetrating radar. So far none have been excavated.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the government will help preserve gravesites and search for potential unmarked burial grounds at other former residential schools. But Mr Trudeau and his ministers have stressed need for indigenous communities to decide for themselves how they want to proceed.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a debate about the discovery of the remains
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a debate about the discovery of the remains (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

“We will be there to support every community that wants to do this work,” Ms Bennett said. “We know right now that that work is urgent.”

The government previously announced 27 million Canadian dollars (£15.5 million) for the effort. Ms Bennett called that a first step.

“I know people are eager for answers but we do have the respect the privacy and mourning period of those communities that are collecting their thoughts and putting together protocols on how to honour these children,” indigenous services minister Marc Miller said.

A National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up as part of a government apology and settlement over the schools, issued a report in 2015 that called on the government to work with indigenous community leaders and respond to families’ wishes for commemoration ceremonies, markers and reburials in home communities.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children were required to attend state-funded Christian schools as part of a programme to assimilate them into Canadian society. They were forced to convert to Christianity and not allowed to speak their native languages. Many were beaten and verbally abused, and up to 6,000 are said to have died.

Mr Trudeau visiting a memorial
Mr Trudeau visiting a memorial (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Canadian government apologised in Parliament in 2008 and admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant. Many students recalled being beaten for speaking their languages. They also lost touch with their parents and customs.

Indigenous leaders plan to bring in forensics experts to identify and repatriate the remains of the children found buried on the Kamloops site. Perry Bellegarde, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, spoke with Mr Trudeau this week and urged him to work with First Nations “to find all the unmarked graves of our stolen children”.

Murray Sinclair, the former chair of the reconciliation commission, said more sites will be found.

“We know there are lots of sites similar to Kamloops that are going to come to light in the future. We need to begin to prepare ourselves for that,” he said.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

The devastation of the Palisades fire

Los Angeles families return to search the ruins of their homes for memories

Live
LA wildfires continue to spread

LIVE: Fresh evacuation order issued as LA wildfires continue to spread and governor calls for water shortage probe

Sam Moore

Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in Sam and Dave duo, dies aged 89

Venezuela Inauguration

Venezuela’s opposition supporters conflicted after Maduro is sworn in

Kim Jong Un demands 1,100lb of poo from every North Korean citizen sparking unusual black market trading

Kim Jong Un demands 1,100lb of poo from North Korean citizens sparking fights and black market trading

The fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles

Fires devastating Los Angeles grow more slowly as fierce winds die down

Anthony Hopkins issues heartfelt message after star's LA home 'burnt to the ground' in devastating wildfires

Anthony Hopkins issues heartfelt message after star's LA home 'burnt to the ground' in devastating wildfires

Christopher Wray head and shoulders

FBI must be independent and above the partisan fray, outgoing director says

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on stage with backdrop of faces

Meta axes diversity and inclusion programme

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses government supporters

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro sworn in for third term

Rudy Giuliani head and shoulders

Judge holds Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court over Georgia election workers

TikTok signage

Supreme Court considers upholding law that could force TikTok to shut down in US

US President Joe Biden at his desk in the Oval Office at the White House

Biden to deliver prime-time farewell to nation from Oval Office on Wednesday

President-elect Donald Trump appears with his lawyer Todd Blanche on a video feed

Judge sentences Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment

Passengers next to plane on runway

Four hurt as Delta plane aborts take-off from snowy Atlanta airport

A damaged pickup truck seen from above

New Orleans attacker fired at police before they killed him, video shows