The NETWORK’s statement concerning the loss of 215 Indigenous children
The Montreal Indigenous Community NETWORK wishes to extend its deepest condolences to all Indigenous persons affected by the discovery of the 215 Indigenous children’s bodies at the former residential school site in Kamloops. This discovery has raised many emotions and reactions of anger, sadness and bitterness. Our thoughts are with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation and we stand in solidarity with all Indigenous peoples during this time of incredible grief and loss.
The Montreal Indigenous Community NETWORK recognizes the finding of 215 Indigenous children’s bodies in the former Kamloops Residential School site in British Columbia as an act of past and on-going colonial violence and oppression. Today, it takes the form of modern day carceral systems, including youth protection systems, where Indigenous children and youth are overrepresented.
Although this finding is unsurprising due to years of denunciation, the many testimonies from Indigenous peoples during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and MMIWG2S Commission, as well as the TRC’s report dedicated to missing children, this event has reopened wounds that, for many Indigenous peoples, have not yet healed. We demand that all former residentials schools sites be properly investigated and dug. This is a necessary step for the mourning process for all families members and kin affected. We will not rest until we bring these children home.
In order for Indigenous communities to heal and receive justice, all those responsible for the colonial and assimilative violence of the residential schools, including the Canadian government, the Catholic Church, individuals responsible for abuse and murders, those who witnessed acts of inhumanity but remained silent or did not act, as well as the RCMP and the British monarchy, to fully recognize their harm, be held accountable, and bring those accused to the criminal justice system.
There are ample public inquiries, commissions, reports, and other evidence demonstrating the perpetuity of colonial violence and we demand that concrete and immediate actions take place in support of self-determination, complete autonomy and sovereignty for Indigenous communities.
It is the responsibility of all non-Indigenous peoples to reflect on the impact of colonialism on Indigenous peoples and to take meaningful action to reconcile with Indigenous nations, establish relations with Indigenous peoples and contribute to the decolonization of settler-colonial Canada. Apathy, omission and silence are acts of complicity in the continuation of colonial violence towards Indigenous communities.
At the NETWORK, we will continue to support all Inuit, First Nations and Métis community members in the Greater Montreal Area in order to heal, repair, prevent and reduce past and current damages, most notably in the youth protection system. More than ever, reconcili-ACTION is crucial to the survival, safety, healing, and thriving of Indigenous communities. This heartbreaking event must never be forgotten in order to never repeat past mistakes.
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If you or your kin are in need of support, please contact the Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
To donate to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society: https://www.irsss.ca/donate
To read calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Report: http://www.trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf
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