Bodies of 215 children found buried at former indigenous school [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• More than 200 bodies of children were found at a former indigenous school in Canada.
• The children were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia that closed in 1978.
• According to Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation, said remains were found with the help of a ground-penetrating radar.

The remains of more than 200 children were found buried at a former indigenous school in British Columbia, Canada.

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was once Canada’s largest residential school situated at the northeastern part of Vancouver. It was believed to assimilate indigenous students in the early to mid-1900s.

The Kamloops school, along with other residential schools were run by government and religious sectors. It was in the late 70’s when it closed, after the federal government took over the administration of the school.

According to Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation, said remains were found with the help of a ground-penetrating radar.

Of the 215 bodies found, some were as young as three years old.

Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation Chief Rosanne Casimir described the discovery of the remains an “unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.”

Between the 19^th century and the 1970s, more than 150,000 indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in these schools.

In an effort to make these children part of the Canadian society, they were not allowed to speak their language or practice their culture, and were even forced to convert to Christianity.

Many were also reported to be mistreated and abused, and according to the Associated Press, there were more than 6,000 deaths at these schools.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, published in 2015 said that at least 3,200 children died amid abuse and neglect, and at least 51 deaths were recorded at the Kamloops school alone between 1915 and 1963.

In 2008, the government of Canada issued an apology recognizing the abusive environment in such schools. As compensation, billions of dollars were allotted to residential school survivors.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed grief, contrition, and utter shock to the discovery.

“The news that remains were found at the former Kamloops residential school breaks my heart – it is a painful reminder of that dark and shameful chapter of our country’s history,” Prime Minister Trudeau said. “I am thinking about everyone affected by this distressing news. We are here for you.”

Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller said in a statement that “the pain that such news causes reminds us of our ongoing need to bring to light every tragic situation that occurred in residential schools run by the Church.”

“We pledge to do whatever we can to heal that suffering,” he added.

Investigators will make every attempt to exhume and identify the children so they can be returned to their families and communities.

Source: Fox News