BC Alliance for Healthy Living Statement on the Discovery of 215 Children Buried on the Grounds of the Former Kamloops Indian Residential School

Like so many others, we were devastated to learn of the 215 children buried on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School located in Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc.  To our Indigenous colleagues, friends, neighbours and First Nations, please accept our sincerest condolences, we see your pain and grief and even though we cannot know the full depth of it, we empathize with you for all that has been lost.

We know the horrific conditions and violence in residential schools is not just a dark, shameful chapter in our history but the legacy of that trauma is carried today by survivors, families and communities. Sadly, Indigenous peoples continue to experience trauma and ongoing disparities that are perpetuated by systemic racism in Canada to this day.

As an organization focused on disease prevention and health promotion, we understand that the colonialization of Indigenous peoples is a direct contributor to the massive gap in health outcomes between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples.  BC Alliance for Healthy Living has always been and remains committed to health equity. We believe that everyone should have access to conditions and programs that support health and wellbeing – and communities with greater health disparities require that much more support.

We implore Federal and Provincial governments to listen and respond to the needs that have been clearly articulated by so many Indigenous leaders. If there is to be any hope for reconciliation, there must be a real commitment in action and funding as well as in word, to the full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action.

There is strength in traditional and culturally grounded wellness practices and we urge governments to provide resources to First Nations and Indigenous organizations so that they have capacity to restore their languages, cultures and traditional practices that are critical to healing.

With policy and funding from the Canadian government, residential schools tried to extinguish Indigenous cultures, despite the brutality of those institutions Indigenous cultures survived. Let us be the generation of Canadians that uses policy and funding to give back to Indigenous communities and this to be a chapter in our history that is remembered for supporting healing and thriving.