| Today we honour the lives of the 215 children whose bodies were discovered at the Kamloops Residential School. Reflection by Paul Hutchison A macabre part of Canada’s hidden history made headlines this month after ground-penetrating radar located the remains of 215 First Nations children in a mass unmarked grave on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Like 150,000 Indigenous children that were taken from their families and nations and placed in residential schools, the 215 bodies of children, some as young as three, were part of a larger colonial program to liquidate Indigenous nations of their histories, culture and foreclose on any future. To do this, Canada put into motion a system to “kill the Indian in the child.” This system often killed the child. Indian Residential Schools were centres for state-directed violence against Indigenous nations, where the children — the heirs of Indigenous nations — were programmatically stripped of their Indianness. Indigenous lives were broken down, sterilized of any trace of the gifts inherited from their parents and ancestors and re-packaged into Canadian bodies. The revelation of a mass disposal site for children — unrecorded and hidden — on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School tells us that the regulation of Indigenous life extended into death. These deaths occurred without indigenous rites and ceremonies that cultivate social continuity with the dead. We must honour that history – and take our part of the responsibility for it. It’s being called– a dark chapter in Canadian history. An ironic post I saw this week asked if the folks burning the Mi’kmaq lobster boats down east last year was a lighter chapter. There are 930 Lobster licenses issued – 5 of them to Mi’kmaq There are 367,375 Lobster traps – 250 belong to Mi’kmaq Does honouring history mean we can talk about the 101 boil water orders still in effect in indigenous communities? Does honouring history mean we can talk about the 5% of Canadians of Indigenous ancestry has surpassed 30% of the total inmate population, indicating a deepening “Indigenization” of Canada’s correctional system? Does honouring history mean we can talk about how it gets worse for Indigenous women, who now account for 42% of the women inmate population in Canada? What about the 52% of children in foster care being indigenous? How are we doing the work of the truth and reconciliation commission? Honouring the history….. The finding of these bodies – as terrible as it is- these children are no longer the disappeared – and there is a chance to honour and release their spirits – but that is going to be some hard work. Honouring the history….. How are we honouring the history – The legacy – The challenge of reconciliation? How are we living out the Calls to Action? John one Verse fourteen reminds us – The Word became flesh and lived among us. How are these challenging stories ‘the word’ living among us? |
Today we honour the lives of the 215 children whose bodies were discovered at the Kamloops Residential School.
Reflection by Paul Hutchison
A macabre part of Canada’s hidden history made headlines this month after ground-penetrating radar located the remains of 215 First Nations children in a mass unmarked grave on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Like 150,000 Indigenous children that were taken from their families and nations and placed in residential schools, the 215 bodies of children, some as young as three, were part of a larger colonial program to liquidate Indigenous nations of their histories, culture and foreclose on any future.
To do this, Canada put into motion a system to “kill the Indian in the child.”
This system often killed the child.
Indian Residential Schools were centres for state-directed violence against Indigenous nations, where the children — the heirs of Indigenous nations — were programmatically stripped of their Indianness.
Indigenous lives were broken down, sterilized of any trace of the gifts inherited from their parents and ancestors and re-packaged into Canadian bodies.
The revelation of a mass disposal site for children — unrecorded and hidden — on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School tells us that the regulation of Indigenous life extended into death. These deaths occurred without indigenous rites and ceremonies that cultivate social continuity with the dead.
We must honour that history – and take our part of the responsibility for it.
It’s being called– a dark chapter in Canadian history. An ironic post I saw this week asked if the folks burning the Mi’kmaq lobster boats down east last year was a lighter chapter.
There are 930 Lobster licenses issued – 5 of them to Mi’kmaq
There are 367,375 Lobster traps – 250 belong to Mi’kmaq
Does honouring history mean we can talk about the 101 boil water orders still in effect in indigenous communities?
Does honouring history mean we can talk about the 5% of Canadians of Indigenous ancestry has surpassed 30% of the total inmate population, indicating a deepening “Indigenization” of Canada’s correctional system?
Does honouring history mean we can talk about how it gets worse for Indigenous women, who now account for 42% of the women inmate population in Canada?
What about the 52% of children in foster care being indigenous?
How are we doing the work of the truth and reconciliation commission?
Honouring the history…..
The finding of these bodies – as terrible as it is- these children are no longer the disappeared – and there is a chance to honour and release their spirits – but that is going to be some hard work.
Honouring the history…..
How are we honouring the history – The legacy – The challenge of reconciliation?
How are we living out the Calls to Action?
John one Verse fourteen reminds us – The Word became flesh and lived among us.
How are these challenging stories ‘the word’ living among us?
Prayer offered by the Indigenous Ministries of the United Church of Canada
Great and Heavenly Spirit,
God of compassion, healing and comfort,
We lift up in prayer the sacred lives of the children, some now known to us, all known to you, who died in residential schools.
We lift up in prayer the sacred lives of the children who went missing from these schools and whose fates are unknown to those who held them most dear.
We grieve the loss of so many thousands of these little ones, and we grieve especially their loss so far away from home.
We grieve the loss of youth with so much potential. These were children of this place, children of our land. The loss of their giftedness is our collective loss.
We lament how long their families have had to live with unanswered questions.
Hear our prayers:
for those who were not informed of their children’s deaths at all, or on a timely basis;
for those who were not told of where their daughters and sons had been buried;
for those who have long hoped that a child who went missing somehow survived and had a good life—even as they may have also feared the worst.
We lament our complicity in the loss of these children. As members of a church which ran residential schools, we seek your help as we look to redress the many ways in which our church failed these Indigenous children, their families, and their communities. We pray that your reconciling love will teach us how to create true bonds of community and understanding as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples today.
We lift up with gratitude the efforts of all those who are seeking to honour the lives of the children who died, as well as the children whose fates are unknown, through ongoing research and acts of remembrance.
We ask for your continued guidance of them as they work to uncover the stories of the lost. We understand how precious this information is, and how vital it is to the healing of so many families and communities.
Bless those who are preparing to honour the children with sacred ceremonies and those who work to protect burial sites, in keeping with the traditions of Indigenous peoples across this land.
We pray for the families of these children and for all who loved them. Envelop them in the warmth of your infinite care and give them peace.
Inspire all of us with energy, wisdom, and commitment to the loving pursuit of the truth which will heal all of us in our brokenness and lead to reconciliation with our neighbours across this land.
Amen.
https://united-church.ca/prayers/memorial-prayer-children-land