Prepare yourselves…there are lots of burial sites, warns Sinclair

Thoughtful Canadians are reeling at the discovery of 215 unmarked graves of indigenous children, some as young as three-years-old, at a former residential schools in Kamloops, BC. But what is even more alarming is that there are likely many hundreds, perhaps thousands of more graves spread over former schools across Canada.

In a statement published by the media this week, the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), retired senator Murray Sinclair said,

“One aspect of residential schools that really proved to be quite shocking to me personally, was the stories that we began to gather of the children who died in the schools. Of the children who died, sometimes deliberately, it was at the hands of others who were there, and in such large numbers.”

[…] 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.

Retired Sen. Murray Sinclair

You can read the full, heart wrenching statement by Senator Sinclair in the Toronto Star.

Below is a map of the locations of residential schools across Canada, produced by The TRC. You can learn more about each location by visiting the website and clicking on the icon.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett announced Wednesday that the federal government is ready to distribute $27 million in pre-announced funding to assist Indigenous communities in locating and memorializing children who died at residential schools.

CTV reported that Bennett said First Nations who want to move forward with burial site searches and commemorations will have information about how to access this funding, “which will be distributed on an urgent basis.”

Canadians should gird themselves for more shocking revelations and discoveries, but also be prepared to take action to keep pressing for true reconciliation.

We thought we’d share with you this post from Pam Palmater.

See more by Pam Palmater