05/29/2021 1:15 PM
Clarín.com
International
Updated 05/29/2021 1:15 PM
The native community of southern
British Columbia
, Canada, is experiencing moments of shock after authorities discovered
the bodies of 215 children of the ethnic minority Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc.
The remains were found near what was once the
Kamloops Indian Residential School
, one of the institutions of the so-called "Indian residential school" system, which operated from the late 19th century to 1978.
It was a network of schools founded by the government and run by
Catholic churches
that removed the children of indigenous peoples from their culture to assimilate them into the dominant culture.
According to the authorities, children were often subjected to
sexual and physical abuse,
and many of them, as this discovery shows, paid with their lives for being considered different.
The former Kamloops Indian Residential School is seen at Tk'emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Andrew Snucins / The Canadian Press via AP)
The management of the Catholic Church
Kamloops Indian Residential School, one of the largest in the country, began operations in the late 19th century under the direction of the Catholic Church before passing under government control in the second half of the 1960s and closing its doors in 1978. .
The gruesome discovery took decades and for some survivors of the Kamloops Indian residential school in Canada, the confirmation that
children as young as 3 years old were buried
on school grounds crystallizes the pain they have carried their entire lives, CNN described.
"I lost my heart, it was so much pain to finally hear, to the outside world, what we assumed was happening there," said
Harvey McLeod
, who attended school for two years in the late 1960s, in a telephone interview with the American chain.
"The story is so unreal, it became real yesterday for many of us in this community," he said.
The Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc community issued a statement in which it is argued that an "unthinkable loss that was discussed, but could never be confirmed" was confirmed.
The main administrative building of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada circa 1970. Library and Archives of Canada / Brochure via REUTERS
"Last weekend, with the help of a
ground-penetrating radar
specialist
, the stark truth of the preliminary findings came to light: the confirmation of the remains of 215 children who were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School." said
Rosanne Casimir
, the head of the indigenous community.
Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc
is one of the largest of the 17 groups that the Secwepemc nation divided into when the British Columbia colony established an Indian reservation system in 1860. Faced with events, the Union of Indian Chiefs of British Columbia he declared mourning with the members of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc and all the First Nations.
The president of that Union, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, echoed the grief shared by the First Nations community and the survivors of residential schools.
In a statement, he said that "there are no words to express the deep grief" that he and others "feel as First Nations people and as survivors."
"These were children, all belonging to a family, a community and a nation, who were forcibly stolen from their homes under the authority of the Canadian government and never returned," he added, urging the country to recognize what happened in the story.
An image from 2008. Stephen Harper Phil Fontaine, Prime Minister of Canada listening to an Aboriginal leader's speech after apologizing to the Aboriginal community.
(AP Photo / Pool, The Canadian Press, Chris Wattie)
"This is the reality of the genocide that occurred and was inflicted on us as indigenous peoples by the colonial state. Today we honor the lives of those children and pray that they and their families can finally be at peace," Stewart said.
In a statement, British Columbia Prime Minister
John Horgan was "horrified and heartbroken"
after learning of the discovery.
"I honor Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc as he deals with this burden of a dark chapter in Canadian history and I remain committed to completing this investigation over the next few weeks, bringing to light the whole truth of this loss," said the president.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report on Canadian residential schools more than five years ago.
The nearly 4,000-page report details the harsh mistreatment inflicted on indigenous children in institutions, where at least 3,200 children died amid abuse and neglect.
To date, the Commission has identified the names or information of more than 4,100 children who died in the residential school system.
However, the exact number is unknown.
ANSA
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