The First Nation said the remains of 215 children were found last weekend buried in a former school near the city of Kamloops.
Remains of 215 children found buried at former school
Preliminary findings from a manpower survey of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School have uncovered the remains of 215 children at the site, the Tk’emlúps Te Secwépemc First Nation said Thursday.
The First Nation said the remains were confirmed to have turned up last weekend near the town of Kamloops in British Columbia’s southern interior.
In a statement, Tk’emlúps Te Secwépemc said they have placed a cadaver radar specialist to do the work, and that their language and culture department is overseeing the project to ensure it is culturally appropriate and respectful.
“As far as we know, these missing children are undocumented deaths,” Tk’emlúps Te Scwépemc Kukpi7 (chief) Rosanne Casimir said in the statement.
The Kamloops Indian Residential School was in operation from 1890 until 1969, when the Federal Government took over management from the Catholic Church to operate as a residential school etiquette school until it closed in 1978.
Up to 500 students would be the school’s enrollment, according to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).
These children came from BC First Nations communities and elsewhere.
The NCTR estimates that about 4,100 children died in the schools, depending on the acts, but said the actual sum is probably much higher.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission said a large number of Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools never returned home.
