Indigenous leaders, Saskatchewan want federal action on residential school deaths
Regina
The Canadian Press
This article was published more than 6 months ago. Some information may no longer be current.
Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron talks during a news conference at the Turvey Centre in Regina on Aug. 22, 2019.Michael Bell/The Canadian Press
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and the Saskatchewan government say they want Ottawa to help research undocumented deaths and burials at residential schools in the province.
Federation Chief Bobby Cameron says finding the children’s remains and giving them proper burials is important to help First Nations communities and families find closure.
“There are thousands of families across this country and in our Treaty territories that have been waiting for their children to come home,” Cameron said Monday in a news release.
“These children deserve the respect and dignity of proper burials and we must follow protocol and work with our Elders to ensure that their souls are at peace.”
The federation has compiled a list of initial sites where it hopes to complete radar ground searches.
Similar technology uncovered the remains of 215 children on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.
“Right now, one of the most immediate steps is for us to identify if we do have any similar situations in Saskatchewan,” said Premier Scott Moe. “Do we have any unmarked remains that are at some of our former residential school sites here in Saskatchewan?”
The former residential school sites the federation wants surveyed include Onion Lake, Beauval, Guy Hill, Lebret, Sturgeon Landing and the Lestock-Touchwood area.
Moe said he hopes the federal government will take the initiative in the surveys, but noted his government is “here to assist in any way that we can.”
“While the residential school system across Canada does deserve a national approach, Saskatchewan is prepared to move forward with this effort in collaboration with our Indigenous communities and with our Indigenous people, and most certainly we are going to do it whether the federal government moves forward or not,” said Moe.
Alberta’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs was emotional in the legislature as he recalled how some children stopped showing up at school near Pigeon Lake, where he grew up, because they were “sent somewhere else.”
“These were the acts that strike directly at the heart of people and cause harm to the state,” said Rick Wilson.
He urged his government to read the 94 Calls to Action written by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and to truly “take action.”
Wilson didn’t respond to questions about whether the provincial government would be calling for a search for unmarked graves, but later in the afternoon he announced in a news release that the government intends to fund research into the undocumented deaths and burials.
He said details of that funding will be announced in the coming days.
In Manitoba, NDP justice critic, Nahanni Fontaine, urged the provincial government to make a commitment to search for graves at 14 known residential schools.
“This is a critical moment in history that demands more than just words of solace – it demands action,” Nahanni said in a news release.
“The discovery of the graves of 215 children outside of a former residential school in Kamloops, is a painful reminder of the traumatic legacy of residential schools, a legacy that has been covered up by governments at every level.”
Members of the community of the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, Quebec march through the town on May 30, 2021, to commemorate the news that a mass gravesite of 215 Indigenous children were found at the Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia.PETER MCCABE/AFP/Getty Images
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Shoes line the edge of the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
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Candles are lit during a vigil in Toronto.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
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People form a circle during a vigil in Toronto.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
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Kayla Sutherland dances a prayer during a vigil in Toronto.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
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A mother hugs her daughter during a vigil in Toronto.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
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Canada's national flag flies at half-mast at the British Columbia Legislature in Victoria.BC Legislative Assembly/Reuters
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Residential school survivor Betty Deer sits next to children's shoes, placed there as a tribute to all the victims of the residential school system outside St. Francis Xavier Church in Kahnawake, Quebec.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
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Lynn Karonhia-Beauvais and grandson Jamieson Kane put down tobacco as a tribute to all the victims of the residential school system as they walk next to children's shoes outside St. Francis Xavier Church in Kahnawake, Quebec.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
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People place 215 pairs of children's shoes on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
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A plaque is seen outside of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, B.C..Andrew Snucins/The Canadian Press
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The main administrative building at the Kamloops Indian Residential School is seen in Kamloops, B.C., circa 1970.LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA/Reuters
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Elder Junior Peter Paul speaks at a ceremony next to 215 pairs of children's shoes placed in remembrance of the bodies discovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.John Morris/The Canadian Press
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A woman places children's shoes and a sign in front of the Sir John A. MacDonald statue in Charlottetown.John Morris/The Canadian Press
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Imogen Haworth, stopping by the memorial of shoes placed outside the Ontario Legislative Building in memory of the 215 children whose remains were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C..Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
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A pair of children’s shoes with the numbers 215, written on them and representing the number of children whose remains were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C..Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
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A woman walks past numbered hearts placed on the steps of the Sir John A. MacDonald statue in Kingston, Ontario.Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press
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Shoes and handwritten messages sit on the Centennial flame on Parliament Hill.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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Flowers and cards are left outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
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Kamloops Indian Residential School survivor Clayton Peters, 64, who was forced into the school for 10 years, sits on the lawn at the former school, in Kamloops, B.C., on Monday, May 31, 2021. Peters' parents and his brothers were also forced into the facility.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
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A woman places flowers on a tree covered with written messages outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
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People stand in front of a memorial for the 215 children at the main entrance of The Mohawk Institute, a former residential school, in Brantford, Ontario.COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images
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Flowers, shoes, and moccasins sit on the steps of the main entrance of The Mohawk Institute, a former residential school in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images
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A person hangs red kids dresses beside shoes outside the City Hall in Kingston, Ontario.Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press
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People hug during moment of silence to honour residential school victims in Kingston, Ontario.Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press
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Players, Fans, and media hold a moment of reflection to honour the memory of 215 Indigenous children prior to first period NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, in Toronto.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
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