This is not a happy proof of brain post... this is not something everyone will want to read. This is headline news in Canada at the moment that I feel should be shared. It is not for the faint of heart. Please proceed with caution.
The number of unmarked graves could grow quickly. To gain some perspective on what I am talking about, read this post that I wrote a few weeks ago. The TLDR summary is that 215 bodies were found at a former Kamloops residential school. Residential schools were effectively assimilation camps for indigenous children. They were stolen from homes in many cases and "kept" at these schools until the graduated from school or ended up in the ground.
Today, some 700 more bodies were discovered at a former residential school outside of Regina, Saskatchewan. This is the second discovery in less than a month. Governments are now providing funding to the nations of indigenous people in Canada to investigate all 139 former schools in the country. The government of Alberta recently committed 8 million dollars to search former Alberta school sites. With 2 schools searched and around 1000 bodies found, the calls of genocide seem fairly warranted.
These schools stopped operating in the 1990's... so this is something very real to many people, this is not something from another era. The country is mourning these discoveries, and will likely continue to mourn as more of these grave sites are discovered.
This dirty piece of Canadian history has been brought to light in a major way and it seems that there may be a change (for the better) occurring among the Canadian population. Many people who would scoff at the indigenous people's claims of blatant racism and maltreatment are now far more sensitive to their struggles. Inter-generational trauma is real, and now people are starting to wake up to the reality of these peoples struggles.
Stalin was responsible for somewhere around 1 million deaths in his "purges". Hitler was responsible for some 11 million deaths. Mao over 40 million. With 2 out of 139 schools checked, there are around 1000 dead. Some simple math could point to some 70,000 dead in residential schools in Canada. These numbers may not go up that high, but that is what they are averaging at this early point in the search.
Canada, known for being friendly and polite, certainly has a dark side, and it is now being aired publicly for the first time. There seems to be no denying that the government of Canada, along with the Catholic Church (who ran the schools) were conspiring to remove the indigenous cultures and languages at any cost. There have been calls for the government and the church to acknowledge their active role in cultural genocide.
No matter how these institutions decide to spin it, a serious atrocity has been committed over the course of 100 years or so. Within a year or so, we will likely see just how bad it was.
There are many people who never knew what happened to their loved ones, their family members or relatives. This is giving many people closure. This also has forced dialogue to open up and for average joe's to accept the fact that severe injustices have been committed on Canadian soil. This is the silver lining. People can begin to heal. The country can begin to come together and build a better society that is more inclusive and less discriminating.
These things will take time, but I am optimistic that we will be better off for looking this tragedy in the eye. If you have anything to share about this, I would love to hear from you. I have no clue if this is news outside of Canada or if this is international news. I am interested in your perspective.
There is a support line if you need to talk about this if you are in Canada and cannot cope with what is being revealed. There is help. 1-866-925-4419
