Megan Howe
On the eve of the 1st of July – Canada Day – 182 unmarked indigenous graves were discovered, which prompted calls for the national holiday to be cancelled.
The remains were found by the Lower Kootenay Band at a former residential school in British Columbia as part of a growing investigation into burial site findings.
This recent discovery came merely one week after a similar find of 751 unmarked graves at another school in Marieval in Saskatchewan, with another 215 graves discovered at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School back in May.
These harrowing findings prompted an outpouring of grief and sent shockwaves throughout the nation.
Response on Social Media
Traditionally, the patriotic holiday exhibits a significant milestone in the country’s independence. It celebrates the unification of the four separate colonies of Canada under the British North America Act. However, the day has attracted a negative stigma among the Indigenous community and its allies. They believe the day is a celebration of the colonization of Indigenous land.
On social media, #CancelCanadaDay began to circulate in the hope that Canadians would cancel their annual celebrations to mourn the lives lost and collectively reflect on the treatment of Indigenous people.
Indigenous rights group Idle No More — operating under the slogan “No Pride In Genocide” — stated: “We will not celebrate stolen indigenous land and stolen indigenous lives. Instead, we will gather to honour all the lives lost to the Canadian state — Indigenous lives, Black lives, Migrant lives, Women and Trans and 2Spirit lives — all of the relatives we have lost.”
80 cities and towns responded to Idle No More’s call to #CancelCanadaDay events, including Victoria, Dartmouth, Yellowmouth and Guelph.
In Vancouver, the day was marked by illuminating the City Hall and Burrard Bridge in orange to commemorate children found at burial sites. City leaders took to Twitter to state: “This Canada Day we will be recognizing Indigenous Peoples, the impact of colonization on those Nations and the steps that need to be taken to reconcile those harms.”
Public Protests
On Thursday 1st July, rallies took place across Canada, which were spearheaded by Idle No More and led by local leaders.
In Winnipeg, protesters replaced usual festivities with actions, tearing down a large statue of Queen Victoria and a smaller statue of Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Victoria was the reigning monarch during Canada’s Confederation. She was also in power when the first residential school was established in 1867.
In a video posted by APTN News, protesters wore orange shirts and placed individual flags beneath the statue in honour of each child discovered in an unmarked grave.
Dozens of people can be seen wrapping the statue of Queen Victoria in ropes to pull the statue off its base, while onlookers cheered and chanted “Take her down” and “Say no to genocide.”
Belinda Vandenbroeck, a residential school survivor, spoke to CBC News about the incident. She said: “I really have no place for [Queen Victoria] in my heart. I never did. She means nothing to me except that her policies and her colonialism is what is dictating us right to this minute as you and I speak.”
History Of Residential Schools In Canada
Residential schools operated in Canada for more than 160 years. Within that time, 150,000 children had passed through their doors. The schools were overseen by religious institutions, including the Catholic church and were mandatory to attend.
This was one method taken by the government to assimilate Indigenous Peoples into European-Canadian culture and colonize territories in Canada.
The majority of students had a negative experience at these boarding schools, which had lasting consequences. They were removed from their homes, isolated from their families and their culture was actively disparaged or scorned. In some cases, they were forbidden from writing letters home to their parents and speaking their own language.
Upon arrival, student’s hair was cut, they were stripped of their clothes and given new uniforms to wear.
Over 130 residential schools operated between 1831 and 1996. It is estimated that 6,000 died while attending them.
Pope Francis’ Plans To Meet Indigenous Survivors
On Tuesday 29th June, Pope Francis invited survivors to meet with him at the Vatican, after growing pressure from the government to issue a formal apology for the role the Catholic church played in the residential school system.
According to The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Francis has agreed to meet three groups, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit in December. A formal apology has yet to be given.
Many believe that it is time for the Catholic church to offer full and public contrition and take responsibility for the abuse that indigenous children suffered.
Featured image courtesy of Hermes Rivera via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license can be found here.
