THUNDER BAY - The discovery of the remains of 215 children in an unmarked grave on the grounds of a former Kamloops residential school is a stark reminder of the tragedy faced by generations of Indigenous people across Canada as well as the work that still needs to be done to find all children who were taken from their home communities and never returned.
“We are here with heavy hearts today,” said Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins.
“We’ve talked about this for generations and the loss of some of our young people. What they found in Kamloops is a real reminder of the work we have to continue to do, bringing those names forward and remembering who they were and what they meant to their communities.”
On Monday, a sacred fire was lit on the grounds of Pope John Paul II School, the former site of the St. Joseph’s Residential School in Fort William.
More than 100 people attended the gathering to remember the 215 children through song, prayer, and offerings.
“When 215 remains are announced on a residential school ground, it touches all of our people from coast to coast,” said Morris Shapwaykeesic of Fort William First Nation and residential school survivor. “It reverberates through all living people here. It reverberated through me. When I was asked to come and sing, I came here and sang for those children.”
Shapwaykeesic said he grew up in the residential school era when Indigenous children were separated from their communities, families, language, and culture.
“I think the whole world has to be educated,” he said, adding that the Vatican and Catholic Church needs to apologize for the role it played in the residential school system.
The remains of 215 children were discovered last week in an unmarked grave on the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, which operated between 1890 and 1969.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the sacred fire and ceremony is a way for the community to come together and express whatever emotion they are feeling.
“I think it speaks to how many people have been impacted by this,” he said. “It’s not just Indigenous people, not just survivors of residential schools and families, it’s everyone. I think all of us have a profound sense of loss.”
Collins said the discovery of the children’s remains is another black eye for Canada and a reminder that many children who attended residential school never returned home.
“When people say why are you harping on residential schools today, this is why, because we still haven’t found all of our young people who went into those facilities,” he said. “We will continue looking for them until they are found.”
Collins added that he is not aware of any undocumented burial sites at former residential school sites in the region, but Fiddler said there have been reports of children who went missing.
“We know there were documented cases of children going missing while they attended residential school here,” he said. “That’s the story that we heard. That there are so many children who are still missing and unaccounted for and the search to find them needs to continue.”
The sacred fire will burn at Pope John Paul II School for the next five days for the public to continue to pay respects.
Shapwaykeesic said the show of support from the public shows just how many people are impacted and how many people care about the nation’s tragic past.
“If it wasn’t for COVID, this field would be jammed packed,” Shapwaykeesic said. “The people truly care. They care about what happened to past generations. A lot of their grandmothers and grandfathers were in the residential school system.”
