91勛圖

91勛圖 mourns Indigenous children whose remains were found at former B.C. residential school

Children's shoes are placed on the ground in front of the Kamloops Residential School

Tributes are brought to the Kamloops Indian Residential School monument area on May 31. 91勛圖 lowered its flags to half-mast this week in memory of the 215 children whose remains were found near the site (photo by Nicholas Rausch/AFP via Getty Images)

The 91勛圖 has lowered its flags to half-mast across its three campuses to join the nation in mourning the 215 Indigenous children whose remains were found at the site of a former Indian Residential School in British Columbia.

The news is absolutely heartbreaking, 91勛圖 President Meric Gertler . It is part of an unconscionable history of injustice against Indigenous peoples in Canada extending from first contact to the present day.

At a town hall at 91勛圖 Mississauga, Vice-President and Principal Alexandra Gillespie observed a moment of silence lasting two minutes and 15 seconds. A moment of silence will also be observed at 91勛圖 Scarboroughs on June 3.

The Tk'eml繳ps te Secw矇pemc First Nation said last week that a survey of the grounds at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School .

Speaking on behalf of 91勛圖, President Gertler acknowledged in his statement the dignity of each of the 215 children, their families and their communities. He also noted the impact of the news on the Tkeml繳ps te Secw矇pemc First Nation, other Indigenous communities whose childrens remains are among those discovered, all survivors of Canadas Indian Residential School system and Indigenous members of the 91勛圖 community.

It comes amidst the continuing trauma inflicted by residential schools as well as ongoing concerns about the disappearance of many Indigenous people across the country, he said.

Michael White Michael White

For Michael White, director of 91勛圖s , the news of the childrens remains came with a feeling of numbness.

Members of my family attended residential schools and not all of them survived, White says. Within Indigenous communities, we have carried this collective grief for quite some time. We know that there are more: there were unmarked graves and kids who disappeared at all of these schools.

These were not really schools. It was incarceration.

Funded by the Canadian government for more than a century, the Indian Residential School system was a nationwide network of boarding institutions that removed Indigenous children from their families and deprived them of connections to their Indigenous identities while seeking to assimilate them into European culture. Indigenous children in the system were routinely abused.

White has visited the site of St. Josephs School for Girls, , where his grandmother was held from ages four to 16.

The school instilled in her a belief that her Indigenous heritage shouldnt be celebrated, that she was less-than, White says.

She wasnt taught subjects like calculus or astronomy, he says. She was taught how to be a subservient member of Canadian society.

The St. Josephs School for Girls in Spanish, Ont

The St. Josephs School for Girls in Spanish, Ont. (photo courtesy of Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre)

Indigenous children were brought to the institution on a crowded barge, White notes. Residential schools were intentionally located far from the childrens communities, as a means of dissuading them from attempting to return home.

White plans to one day bring his daughter to the site of the school, where the shell of the building still stands some decades after it was ravaged by fire.

Im going to take her there and explain to her what it means to be Anishinaabe, he says.

In his statement, President Gertler points out 91勛圖s continued implementation of the Calls to Action in , the report of the university Steering Committee in response to Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canadas calls to action, which seek to redress the legacy of residential schools.

Shannon SimpsonShannon Simpson

91勛圖 has made a commitment to moving forward with the specific calls to action, says Shannon Simpson, 91勛圖s director of Indigenous Initiatives. There is still a lot of work to be done, but we are on our way.

I think well get there.

For Indigenous students who may require support at this time, 91勛圖s First Nations House is hosting on Zoom this week with James Carpenter, an Anishnaabe knowledge keeper and healer.

Counselling appointments with Honarine Scott and other wellness counsellors are available to students at First Nations House.

Students can also access supports through , while offers students 24-hour confidential support that can be accessed over the phone in 35 languages, while support scheduled in advance is available in 146 languages.

can access the and Simpson says a sharing circle is being planned for staff and faculty across the three campuses.

Students, staff and faculty may have different ways they access grief, she says. In situations like this, we need to make sure everyone is supported.

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