Residential school deaths are significantly higher than previously reported

• Over the past year I have worked at University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (UnBQ) as the Indian Residential School Coordinator.
• There, I spent time speaking with survivors of Indian Residential Schools and I also helped conduct a search for grave sites of missing children.
• Listening to the truths of residential school survivors was a stark reminder that we need to continue educating people about what happened at these schools, both for Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks.
• Despite the irrefutable evidence, there are still those who deny or refuse to acknowledge the abuse and deaths of Indigenous children in residential schools.

Survivor testimonies help lead the search

• Our initial findings released publicly on April 19 identified 19 “reflections of interest” on 1.29 acres of land.
• The term “reflections of interest” is used to describe traits that are similar in ground penetrating radar data (GPR).
• This is only the start of the search process as UnBQ is located on 240 acres of land.

Addressing residential school denialism

• In-depth measuring of the deaths of residential school students is critical to research and communities to help provide clearer understandings of the lives of these children across Canada.
• Denialists may argue that uncovering a certain number of graves is not indicative of problematic conditions in the schools.
• Indigenous scholars, leaders and survivors have long known that the number of deaths of children in residential schools was substantial.

Compassion as we mourn

• I honour his wish by learning, unlearning and educating in systems that were not made for me.
• Education is healing and it offers people an opportunity to understand, unlearn and relearn the truths of this country.
• The intergenerational trauma of residential schools has interrupted and challenged our Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.
• We need to be more compassionate with one another, as people, but also as practitioners working with Indigenous families.
• Mental health support is available through the Hope for Wellness chatline at 1-855-242-3310 or using the chat box at hopeforwellness.ca.