Trudeau says federal government will support First Nations’ next steps

Support services are in place for residential school survivors and their families here.

TK’EMLUPS — Monday (May 23) marked one year since Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announced that unmarked graves of Le Estcwicwéy̓ (The Missing Children) were detected at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

As part of the memorial at the Tk’emlúps Powwow Arbour, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke about the year of Canadians coming to grips with their history and the legacy of residential schools.

“It’s not just a part of our past, it’s also a part of our present,” Trudeau said. “The legacy of intergenerational trauma resonates through Indigenous communities, and communities and cities right across the country, as people struggle with the dark legacy of our colonial past. We have a long path ahead of us for reconciliation, but it’s one we need to walk as Canadians, and all of us need to understand reconciliation isn’t just about the federal government and Indigenous leadership, it’s about non-Indigenous Canadians as well.”

Trudeau was asked specifics about how the federal government would support Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and other First Nations ground penetrating radar and exhumation work. While he didn’t provide details on projects Tk’emlups had previously asked for, such as a healing centre and elders lodge, Trudeau said the federal government will support “whatever communities decide is the right path for them.”

“These are all priorities on top of the challenges around housing, mental health supports, economic development and education… we’re continuing to work closely together,” Trudeau said. “It’s a long process to get things done right because they can’t be decided from Ottawa, they have to be driven and shaped by the community. Many years of well-intentioned governments… didn’t solve problems but continued to perpetuate them. Making sure that local leadership has the leadership over these projects is at the heart of what we need to do to move forward.”

Trudeau’s visit to Tk’emlups was met with mixed reactions. While he was greeted warmly by elders, he also faced angry chants. Previously, Trudeau received criticism for not visiting Kamloops during Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, 2021.

“I was incredibly touched to be so warmly welcomed by so many, including elders who gave me hugs and told me they were glad I was here, but there was also anger and frustration and mistrust, and that’s totally legitimate,” he remarked. “What so many people have been through in terms of layers of trauma that they’ve gone through… if it makes anyone feel a little bit better to shout at me, then please, they should. Because this community needs and deserves healing, and our job as a federal government is to accompany.”

Going forward, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc says the latest round of ground-penetrating radar surveys near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School will commence shortly.

with files from Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today