Thousands of tribal minors may be buried in Canada

(CNN) – Old forensic evidence Kamloops Indian Residential Company There were hundreds of unmarked graves from Canada, including a rib and a young tooth found under an apple orchard.

But school survivors say they do not need forensic evidence to know that hundreds of minors were missing in Kamloop. This week, new evidence backed what tribal elders in the Canadian province of British Columbia call “cognition.”

In an emotional presentation of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation on Thursday, officials investigating the unmarked graves warned that many more could be found in the coming months.

“After all, this investigation has rarely scratched the surface, covering only 0.8 hectares of the total 64 companies,” said Sarah Polieu. He was a ground penetrating radar expert who led the forensic investigation.

So far 200 graves have been found, and according to preliminary results, this number is slightly lower Initial evaluation May 215. But Paulie says the number may be higher as investigation and forensic excavations progress.

“This fact, this‘ cognition ’, has been recognized by tribal communities for generations,” Baliou said. “There may be graves of missing children in all the residences of the residential school. Remote sensors such as GPR provide a spatial specification of this fact.”

Abuse in dozens of Canadian boarding schools

Evidence presented this Thursday underscores the extent of abuse and neglect of tribal children. Not only in British Columbia, but also in dozens of boarding schools in Canada. Similar forensic investigations are underway at dozens of sites where there may be more graves.

“We speak clearly about the thousands and thousands of children who are missing,” said Lisa Hodgets, president of the Canadian Archaeological Society.

Kamloops survivors testified about the findings during the presentation. They painted a dark picture of the submission of children under the age of 5 in these schools, which many survivors use with contempt. They claim they were not educated, but they were neglected and sexually, physically and emotionally abused.

Evelyn Camille, an escapee from Kamloops, spoke of abuse and neglect. Also, how many people tried to leave the school, drowned in a nearby river or died from the cold after trying to escape in the winter.

“We tried to mention over and over again that there are a lot of missing children,” Kamil said.

Claim rights to government and church officials

Originally known as the Kamloops Industrial School, the school opened in 1890 and operated until 1978. It was opened and run by the Catholic Church until the federal government took over in the late 1960s.

“As Dr. Paulie has already pointed out, I think it is unfortunate that it took science to awaken the world to a reality that survivors and communities have known for years,” Hodgets said during the presentation.

Rosen Casimir, Chairman முதல் நாடு Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, Where the school is located, both the federal government and the Roman Catholic Church are required to publish all records of those who attended the schools.

“We refuse to place the responsibility of identifying the missing on the Kamloops Indigenous Housing Company. They are already shocked and shocked again,” Casimir said, urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada to share attendance records. .

Casimir said this was “the first step in helping Tk’emlúps te Secw அதன்pemc to recognize its obligations regarding the missing without recognizing them and taking steps for reconciliation.”

People gather in front of the old school in Kamloops to welcome the Silks Okanagan runners who will be taking part in the Spirit of Sylvester Unity Run.

Tribal leaders confirm that what happened was a crime

The Canadian government has said it will fund further research on unnamed graves in tribal communities across the country, but has faced criticism for not mentioning it soon. Truth and Reconciliation Commission In its 2015 report.

Since his early discovery in the Kamloops in late May, Trudeau has said his government will cooperate and fund investigations.

During a news conference in Montreal on Thursday, Trudeau said: “More funds will be needed to allow communities to continue to grieve, heal, and seek answers.

“At the same time we have been committed for many years and will continue to share every record that the federal government needs to help identify these graves,” he added.

Tribal leaders have said in recent weeks that they are crimes and should be investigated.

The case of a 12-year-old boy

Survivors who attended the presentation spoke of how shocked they have been in recent weeks, unleashing past abuses and crying for children who have lost their lives.

“I remember a boy named Riley who was starving by one of the supervisors in the bathroom. It wasn’t long before he was reportedly hanged,” Bruce Allen, a survivor at a boarding school, told CNN. The site of Kamloops.

Allen said there was no way to know if the boy, who was about 12 years old, had committed suicide or if it was a crime.

According to him, in recent weeks he has seen hundreds of people, including many non-native Canadians, coming to pay their respects at an altar on the school grounds, and many have learned the truth about Canada, he says.

Allen serves as a consultant on the survival crisis line. He says some of those who have contacted him since the graves were discovered have never talked about the abuse they experienced or saw.

“It woke them up, people who have never talked about it are telling their stories, there is a lot of pain and sadness,” he said.

As more and more people learn the truth about how many graves are unmarked and how many children are missing, they are overwhelmed by calls from survivors trying to integrate what they call cultural genocide.