The deaths of Indigenous children must not be in vain
By Letter to the Editor on June 5, 2021.
Editor;
Some people need to believe that such atrocious occurrences happened ‘long ago’,’in the past’ and that, or therefore, humanity could/would not allow them to happen again, in our much more modern times. I, however, doubt that is the way large-scale societies – let alone border-segregated, independent nations – necessarily behave collectively.
After 34 years of news consumption, I have found that a disturbingly large number of categorized people, however precious their souls, can be considered thus treated as though disposable, even to an otherwise democratic nation. When the young children of those people take notice of this, tragically, they’re vulnerable to begin perceiving themselves as beings without value.
When I say this, I primarily have in mind Indigenous-nation (and perhaps Black) Canadians and Americans. But, tragically, such horrendous occurrences still happen on Earth, often enough going unrealized to the rest of the world.
The Indigenous children’s mass grave, as sadly anticipated as the find was (and others are expected), must not be in vain. Rather, it must mark the start of a substantial progressive move forward for Indigenous nations, especially regarding life’s fundamental necessities (proper shelter and clean air, water and food).
Frank Sterle Jr.
White Ro​ck, B.C.
-1
You suggest the school killed those children. How ludicrous! Let’s find what they really died from, which was likely smallpox or tuberculosis. Not much the school could have done.
Get the facts, quit with the fake news.
On edit: that is not a mass grave, but rather individual gravesite, albeit without markings. Historically, Indian burial grounds were unmarked.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), was able to document the deaths of 3,213 children in Residential Schools. The actual number is certainly higher owing poor record keeping.
In a report written for the Commission, Dr. Scott Hamilton of the Department of Anthropology at Lakehead University notes that while many of the death records do not list the cause of death, tuberculosis was probably the most common. The conditions in Residential Schools which are known to have been crowded, often unsanitary, and poorly constructed were well suited to the spread of TB and other communicable diseases.
So, could the system have done more — of course apart from not taking children from their families in the first place! — you bet.
For further information here is a website to check out: https://nctr.ca/records/reports/
and the fact that 6 youth per day die of opiode overdose does not hit the news. beat the drum slowly.
See the letter and comments here:
https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2021/06/04/blood-tribe-pays-tribute-to-residential-school-victims-demands-govt-action/
I just received this from a contact in Kamloops regarding the GPR results.
People out here , white and native want to see the images obtained. Nothing has been dug up or a piece of grass pulled. Getting pretty tired of this same old crap on the TV. Show us what they got.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-penetrating_radar
Note: possible. Reconciliation requires the Truth, dig and determine.
Something I wrote somewhere else:
It’s obvious most people think a ground penetrating radar image looks like an x-ray. However, GPR only detects if there is a change in the subsurface properties. The image is just a bunch of lines with the some bumps…google “GPR image”.
It’s actually very common for GPR operators to proclaim that they may have found some graves, or remnants of a dwelling, etc, only to find after digging that it was a scattering of large rocks, or just random variations in the soil density. Anyway, they haven’t even dug it up yet to know exactly what the lines and bumps are actually showing.
However, Tracy Rogers, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Toronto suggests that what the radar found in Kamloops was a roughshod cemetery — not a mass grave as some media reported — indicating a few deaths per year over decades.
I am a 78 year old senior , born and raised Albertan , whose grandfather on his dad’s side was a half breed from the U.S, Cherokee Indian. All my life I have heard Indians talk about the horrors of these Residential Schools and what they did to them. Now we see people pretending how shocked they are by what was found, weren’t you listening? Seniors should have been a lot smarter.
I had lunch with a group of my senior friends last Wednesday, a picnic in the park and none of them were surprised by what was found, they had all heard the stories. Of course one was a retired RCMP officer and two had worked for the Lougheed and Getty governments and were fired by Klein. One in Indian Affairs and Labor Department and one as a government auditor.
You’re not embarrassed to call yourself a Half breed?!
Where do you get the idea that I’m a half breed when my DNA shows I am only 10% And no I tell it as it is. I think you will find that there are a lot of us with that heritage.
while i am uncertain as to how one is able to put an estimate on the number of bodies with much accuracy, without a dig – however horrific – can we know what is there. (as for buried, dead bodies, come on folks: does anyone really believe there is a soul attached to them anymore…talk about a ball and chain for eternity if so). so, what we have is one side throwing out numbers without a substantive basis, and another side suggesting causes of death. can we jump to conclusions, or what, eh? seems us ignorant fools are still all about reaction rather than intelligent investigation. seems every single moment, every anomaly, is a harbinger of truth and destiny.
say isn’t this similar to the covid pandemic. let’s distort the facts ia what reporting media does.
” ‘Mass grave’ narrative misses need for answers and action: researcher”
“Deceased students were often buried in simple graveyards near the schools because federal authorities provided no funding to send the bodies home or to conduct proper burials. The result,[Dr. Scott] Hamilton told The B.C. Catholic, was that the children were interred in de facto “pauper’s graves” with simple wooden crosses that have deteriorated and disappeared over the decades. His report found no evidence that school officials intended to hide the graves.”
https://bccatholic.ca/news/catholic-van/mass-grave-narrative-misses-need-for-answers-and-action-researcher
See also:
“Where are the Children Buried?” Dr. Scott Hamilton Dept. of Anthropology, Lakehead University Thunder Bay, Ontario
https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AAA-Hamilton-cemetery-FInal.pdf