North York Community House grieves with the\u00a0families and communities of the 215 children whose remains were discovered\u00a0at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School\u00a0on\u00a0Tk\u2019eml\u00faps te Secwe\u0301pemc First Nation in Kamloops, B.C.<\/p>\n
We have heard\u00a0and believed the stories of Residential School Survivors and thank the\u00a0Tk\u2019eml\u00faps\u00a0te\u00a0Secw\u00e9pemc\u00a0First Nation for carrying out this very difficult work so the children who suffered under Canada\u2019s Residential School system are not forgotten.<\/p>\n
As an organization of newcomers, refugees, and modern-day settlers, we\u00a0are aware that we add layers of oppression and barriers on Indigenous Peoples\u00a0by residing on these lands.\u00a0We are committed to working\u00a0towards reducing these barriers, educating ourselves, and building awareness\u00a0of Indigenous history, rights, and treaties,\u00a0among newcomer communities. As displaced communities with\u00a0lived experiences of colonization, war, famine, and genocide, we commit to finding common ground and working together\u00a0to bring healing.<\/p>\n
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimates that more than\u00a0150,000 First Nations, M\u00e9tis, and Inuit children were placed in\u00a0residential\u00a0schools between the 1870s and 1990s\u00a0and at least\u00a04,100 children died while attending school.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n We call on the\u00a0Canadian\u00a0government\u00a0to provide the resources and support needed to identify and commemorate all the children who went missing while at residential schools across Canada\u00a0in keeping with its\u00a0commitment\u00a0to act on the\u00a0Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 71 to 76: Missing children and unmarked burials. \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Together, as settlers on these lands\u00a0both old and new,\u00a0we must face the horrors of our shared history,\u00a0learn the truth,\u00a0call for justice,\u00a0and work towards\u00a0meaningful\u00a0reconciliation.<\/p>\n Learn more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – Calls to Action<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n To Break Residential Schools\u2019 Dark Legacy, Understand Why<\/a> Residential Schools in Canada: A Timeline<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n
\nKnow the roots of Canada\u2019s incarceration of native children and see why the effects linger. By Kevin James Ward via The Tyee. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n