Canada finds 215 bodies of children in former school building Be

School residency system separates indigenous children and families as ‘cultural genocide’

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, OTOWA — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the country found the bodies of 215 children, the youngest aged 3 years. The bodies were found in a former school for indigenous children.

Those kids are students at Kamloops Indian Residential School which is located in British Columbia. According to the conservation administration Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc the school was closed in 1978. The bodies were recovered with the help of radar experts.

“We know our community can verify it. At this point, we have more questions to answer,” said the head of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Rosanne Casimir, Saturday (29/5).

In 2015 Canada released the results of a six-year investigation into Canada’s now-defunct school residency system. The investigation determined that the system separating indigenous children from their families was ‘cultural genocide’.

The report documents the sexual, physical, malnutrition and other abuses experienced by more than 150,000 children who attend the school. The schools were usually run by Christian churches from the 1840s to the 1990s.

It was found that more than 4,100 children died while attending residential schools. The deaths of the 215 children buried on the grounds of the former largest residential school in Canada were unknown and did not appear to be recorded until they were found.

“(This news) shattered my heart, became a painful reminder of dark times and embarrassed the history of our nation,” Trudeau in his tweet.

In 2008 the Canadian government officially apologized for the system. The conservation administration of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation said it had cooperated with the coroner and contacted families whose children attend the school. They expect the initial findings to be made in mid-June.

source : Reuters

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