Memorial for unproven graves (Former title: Memorial display for 215 dead Indigenous children, Calgary - #1)
In late May 2021, it was announced that the remains of 215 children had been found (using ground-penetrating radar) in unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, western Canada. (This school was jointly operated, from 1890 to 1969, by the Catholic Church and the federal government of Canada.) This was not surprising to those of us who have paid attention to Indigenous issues over the past years and decades - the only surprise was the actual specific number: 215.
This has become a huge social and political issue in Canada, with memorials, like the one in my photo above (on the steps in front of Calgary's City Hall/Municipal Building), sprouting up across Canada.
Those not familiar with this news story can read recent news reports, such as:
www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57325653
Or read journalists' reports from Canada's major media networks:
(Re: terminology, Indians in Canada have been referred to by different names over the years: Indians, Native Canadians, First Nations, aboriginal Canadians, and Indigenous Canadians; many news organizations insist on capitalizing the first I in "Indigenous." "Indian" is their official name in Canada's Constitution.)
Update, Jan.2025:
This news story has evolved over the years: no bodies (buried remains) have been found, because no excavations have been done, so there is no proof of graves yet.
Memorial for unproven graves (Former title: Memorial display for 215 dead Indigenous children, Calgary - #1)
In late May 2021, it was announced that the remains of 215 children had been found (using ground-penetrating radar) in unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, western Canada. (This school was jointly operated, from 1890 to 1969, by the Catholic Church and the federal government of Canada.) This was not surprising to those of us who have paid attention to Indigenous issues over the past years and decades - the only surprise was the actual specific number: 215.
This has become a huge social and political issue in Canada, with memorials, like the one in my photo above (on the steps in front of Calgary's City Hall/Municipal Building), sprouting up across Canada.
Those not familiar with this news story can read recent news reports, such as:
www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57325653
Or read journalists' reports from Canada's major media networks:
(Re: terminology, Indians in Canada have been referred to by different names over the years: Indians, Native Canadians, First Nations, aboriginal Canadians, and Indigenous Canadians; many news organizations insist on capitalizing the first I in "Indigenous." "Indian" is their official name in Canada's Constitution.)
Update, Jan.2025:
This news story has evolved over the years: no bodies (buried remains) have been found, because no excavations have been done, so there is no proof of graves yet.