British Columbia: Remains of 215 children found buried at former B.C. residential [Indian] school
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc say ground-penetrating radar was used to locate remains
May 27, 2021 (apology if already dropped)
Preliminary findings from a survey of the grounds at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School have uncovered the remains of 215 children buried at the site, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said Thursday.
The First Nation said the remains were confirmed last weekend near the city of Kamloops, in B.C.'s southern Interior.
In a statement, Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc said they hired a specialist in ground-penetrating radar to carry out the work, and that their language and culture department oversaw the project to ensure it was done in a culturally appropriate and respectful way. The release did not specify the company or individual involved, or how the work was completed.
"To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths," Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said in the statement.
"Some were as youngas three years old…
The Kamloops Indian Residential School was in operation from 1890 to 1969, whenthe federal government took over administration from the Catholic Churchto operate it as a residence for a day school, until closing in 1978.
Up to 500 students would have been registered at the school, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR). Those children would have come from First Nations communities across B.C. and beyond.
According to Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was set up in 2008 to find out what happened in residential schools was told 50 deaths occurred at the Kamloops institution.
She said "massive ongoing problems" with historical records, including those "held bycertain Catholic entitiesthat they will not release" have made it very hard to understand accurately what happened.
Turpel-Lafond said the discovery confirms what community survivors have said for years — thatmany children went to the school and never returned.She also said federal agents often moved children around, so it is possible some of those found are from other First Nations communities.
Turpel-Lafond also has questions about how these children died giventhe rampant sexual and physical abuse documented in residential schools.
"There may be reasons why they wouldn't record the deaths properly and that they weren't treated with dignity and respect becausethat was the whole purpose of the residential school … to take total control of Indian children, to remove their culture, identity and connection to their family,"
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tk-emlups-te-secw%C3%A9pemc-215-children-former-kamloops-indian-residential-school-1.6043778