By: Laura Steiner
Milton Mayor Gord Krantz is speaking out on the discovery of 215 children’s bodies at the former site of a Residential School in Kamloops British Columbia.
“I mourn for these children and with their families, and with the survivors of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. I mourn for all the children who never made it home from a Residential School,” he said. The Town of Milton will also lower flags to half-mast at all municipal buildings beginning today.
Late last week the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation revealed they discovered the remains as part of preliminary survey. The Indian Residential Schools were part of the Indian Act introduced in the 1870’s. They lasted until the mid 1990’s, with the last closing 1996. The Kamloops Indian Residential School was run by the Catholic Church from 1890 to 1969. The federal government took over, running it as a residence for a day school until its closure in 1978.
Experts believe that there could be other similar unmarked graves in other former Residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has a section in their final report released in 2015 , titled “Missing Children and Unmarked Burials,” where they recommended the location of burial sites. The report states the work would cost in excess of $1.5 million and asked that Indian Affairs cover it. A request was made in 2009, but refused.
Krantz Speaks on Kamloops Residential School
