Honouring the children by moving to action

CONTENT WARNING: Residential Schools

Photo: Kat Brown Akootchook (@sweetgrass_and_sage)

As details emerge and are shared from Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc territory (Kamloops, B.C.)  around the world and within our communities, we want to share a message of compassion, and extra care, to breathe deep, and practice kindness for yourself and others. Our hearts are with families, friends, and loved ones of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, and all Nations, mourning those lost to the Canadian Residential School System and generations who continue to suffer.

While this will be a shock for some, it is re-traumatizing for so many. It is the responsibility of non-Indigenous settlers, who continue to benefit from the systems of colonialism, to do the heavy lifting on this journey of truth-telling, and ensuring that these crimes are never repeated.

Image: On Canada Project.

What settlers can do

The 2015 Calls to Action from The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) were created as a tangible roadmap to realize justice and help communities bring their loved ones home. These include 6 specific Calls to Action on Missing Children and Burial Information, which have not yet been completed. Settlers can use their voices to ensure that Canada responds with real action. 

Settlers Take Action by the On Canada Project offers a visual resource guide for settlers. 

Reconciliation Canada hosted morning online gatherings to honour the 215 children each morning from Saturday, May 29th – Tuesday, June 1st. The recordings are available to watch here: https://reconciliationcanada.ca/honouring215children/

First response resources

National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419 | Set up to provide support, including emotional and crisis referral, for former Residential School students.

The Indian Residential School Survivors Society provides essential services to Survivors, their families, and those dealing with Intergenerational trauma: https://www.irsss.ca/

MakeWay has made a donation to support IRSSS’ important work, and we encourage anyone who can to do the same here.

As Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond so eloquently said, “only when Indigenous peoples have the opportunity, authority, accountability and support to care for their own communities and families – through the governments they have determined and according to their own laws and traditions – will the challenges that are with us be addressed.”

At MakeWay, we will continue to support this imperative cause, humbly but with determination.