I want to vomit.
That’s how I felt (and still do) when I heard that the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found buried under the old residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. Read one new story here.
For decades starting in 1863, babies and children of the First Nations were taken by force and placed in residential schools operated by the Catholic Church.
Just for a second, close your eyes and imagine someone coming and taking your baby from your arms, or scooping up your young children and putting them into institutions where sexual/physical abuse, neglect, and shaming were the norm.
I can’t imagine the fear, the helplessness, and the deep grief that was experienced. What the government and church did was wrong on so many levels.
This is a reality that Canadians will have to own and acknowledge.
The Canadian Government and the Catholic Church need to answer for this.
The atrocities foisted upon the indigenous peoples of Canada are shameful. Over the years so much has been either ignored or down-played–well, the truth has a way of showing itself sooner or later. Here we are.
I am not indigenous and this is not my story to tell. But the truth is beginning to surface and I believe this is just the beginning.
Please … May 31, 2021 leave your porch light on and leave a teddy bear… to honor all those innocent souls.
