In their final slumber . . .

 When I pondered what I might blog on after taking some time off this month, I really had no choice, as the tragedy of discovering 215 unmarked graves at the former Residential School in Kamloops was first and foremost on my mind.  I am deeply saddened by the reality of so many children being buried without even so much as a marker.  What would their parents have thought?  Would they have speculated that they ran away and were safe somewhere, or perhaps that they perished trying to come home, or did most of them know, at some deep level, that their children had been sick, possibly abused, and then died?  That would have been bad enough, but then, to also know, or suspect, that they had simply been discarded in death, would be heart breaking.  In the midst of this horror, the only thing that brings me comfort is knowing that they were not alone – God was with them—and, we can only hope that, all of those children knew, even though they were separated from their families, they were loved.

But I was not surprised. While still living in Alberta there was a movement to try and preserve, identify and mark the graves of children who died at the Red Deer Industrial School, an Indigenous Residential School which was ran by the Methodist Church Graves to be Preserved - Red Deer Advocate I suspect that the graves found in Kamloops are just the tip of the iceberg and similar graveyards will be found at all, or at least most, of the Residential Schools that are found across Canada.

Death rates at the Residential Schools are estimated, by some authorities, to be as high as 50%, which gives credence to the argument that Residential Schools were not only an intentional instrument of cultural assimilation but were also a tool of genocide, directed towards the First Nations People of Canada by the government that had promised to protect them (often by treaty).

This discovery, in Kamloops, is different than previous revelations of abuse and neglect at the schools and I am encouraged by that difference.  Carol and I attended some of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s hearings when they were in Campbell River.  Some of the stories we heard were heart breaking, some just made me ill.  Later, what shocked and saddened me were the number of people we know who made comments like, “Why can’t they just get over it?”, “They must be exaggerating”, “Not all the schools were like that”, “Some children really benefitted from going there”, and “I knew an aunt (or uncle, friend, or cousin) who worked at one of the schools and they never saw anything like that.”  Today, the discovery of these unmarked children’s graves is resulting in outrage in all Canadians from coast to coast.  I’ve heard Indigenous people say on the news, “They finally believe us.” I believe that is true – finally, the stories of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect are being taken seriously by all.

The good news in this tragedy is, in my opinion, that, Canadians are finally ready to begin the hard work of Reconciliation.  One woman, who I agree with, said, “We don’t need any, ‘I’m sorry.’  We have closets full of I’m sorry. What we need is the resources to begin healing.” Perhaps the bulletin board outside Comox United Church says in all: “In their final slumber – They awoke a Nation.”

May it be so. Wayne