Every Child Matters

Most of you have heard of the news released last week, announcing that the remains of 215 children were found buried at a former BC Residential school. This announcement has rippled through our communities and brought sadness to us all.

Preliminary findings from a survey of the grounds at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School have uncovered the remains of 215 children buried at the site, the Tk\’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said Thursday.

The First Nation said the remains were confirmed last weekend near the city of Kamloops, in B.C.\’s southern Interior.

In a statement, Tk\’emlúps te Secwépemc said it hired a specialist in ground-penetrating radar to carry out the work, and that its Language and Culture Department oversaw the project to ensure it was done in a culturally appropriate and respectful way. The release did not specify the company or individual involved, or how the work was completed.

\”To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths,\” Tk\’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said in the statement.

\”Some were as young as three years old. We sought out a way to confirm that knowing out of deepest respect and love for those lost children and their families, understanding that Tk\’emlúps te Secwépemc is the final resting place of these children.\”

For more information on the story, please visit the CBC story by clicking here. Also we recommend reading more about the impact this story has had surrounding residential schools by clicking here.

Community Ventures Society (CVS) stands with our indigenous communities as they mourn this atrocity. CVS lives and breathes the phrase \”every child matters\” in our daily work with children. We live and breathe the motto \”every human matters\” in our day-to-day as we spread the message of inclusion across our communities. We are totally devastated to hear about this news. CVS aims to support our indigenous communities in all ways possible and hopes for justice for any and all effected communities.