Today, the day before we celebrate Canada Day tomorrow, radio stations across the country are coming together to give a voice to our indigenous people, after the horrific discovery earlier this month, of the hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of former Indian Residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan....
Today, something far more serious... Today, the day before we celebrate Canada Day tomorrow, radio stations across the country are coming together to give a voice to our indigenous people, after the horrific discovery earlier this month, of the hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of former Indian Residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.... Over a period of a century, one hundred and fifty thousand Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to Residential schools. There they lost their culture, their language, their traditions, and teachings, and many were subjected to unspeakable abuse. Thousands lost their lives. It's a shameful, horrific, dark part of our country's history, as the truth comes out. And as I'm typing this post there's a news flash at the top of my screen announcing another 182 graves have just been discovered at yet another former residential school in British Columbia. How many more will they find??
7 Comments
Donna
6/30/2021 10:56:20 am
Thank you for a heartfelt tribute to the thousands of children who lost their lives and the many thousands more who lost their childhoods when they were torn away from their families and forced into the Residential schools. It is our national shame.
Reply
Martha
6/30/2021 11:01:05 am
It was very difficult to write. I just can't get my head around how badly the children were treated. I suspect we are only seeing the 'tip of the iceberg', as more graves are discovered - another 182 today. It's high time we all did the right thing by our indigenous people.
Reply
Jill Jackson
6/30/2021 10:58:44 am
How do such atrocities manage to stay hidden for so long. These little ones are a beautiful tribute to those lost children.
Reply
Martha
6/30/2021 11:17:59 am
I don't know. I think the history of the residential schools was never a secret, and there have always been stories, but the recent discoveries of all the children's unmarked graves using ground penetrating radar, has really shocked many people.
Reply
Dorothy
6/30/2021 12:22:11 pm
We carry the shame for this horrible treatment of children here in the US. There is a site of a Native American boarding school not so far from where I live. I have visited the gravesites there and toured the remaining buildings. It is so sad.
Reply
Carol
6/30/2021 03:27:22 pm
Your post today speaks for many of us who are not indigenous Canadians. The stories told are hard to hear & it is time for us to listen. Historically many children were treated very badly such as the British Home Children. My prayers are for a kinder gentler society where all people are valued.
Reply
Jay
7/1/2021 06:20:12 pm
A beautiful tribute, Martha. Well said. We in my country also bear the shame of horrific treatment of our indigenous people. And still their reservations lack for so much. It's a disgrace.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
October 2023
|