Trudeau has not yet given details of what these specific actions will be, after the discovery of a mass grave with 215 indigenous children.
Boarding schools in Canada were institutions run by the state or the church to assimilate children of indigenous peoples.
The discovery of the remains of Kamlop’s boarding school in British Columbia, which operated between 1890 and 1978, was confirmed on Thursday. The cause of death is currently unknown. Some of the children were as young as three years old.
– Unfortunately, this is not an exception or an isolated incident. We will not hide from it. We must acknowledge the truth. Boarding schools were a reality, a tragedy that existed here in our country, and we must stand by it, says Trudeau.
For decades, children were taken from their families and forced to learn the traditions of European colonists in order to forget their own culture. Violence and sexual abuse were common.
Several have now called for a full investigation.
– A thorough investigation of the areas of all former boarding schools could lead to more truths about the genocide against our people, says Perry Bellegarde, who is the head of the National Assembly of Canada for First Nations.
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