This week the remains of 215 children were discovered on what was once the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
   This was Canada’s largest residential school.
   These children were taken from their families decades ago.
   They were not cared for.
   They were not accounted for.
   They were not among the 4,110 children already documented as having died in the Canadian residential school system.
   The schools killed them.
   It is expected there will be more bodies located on the grounds of this school, and possibly other schools across this country.
   The Kamloops Indian Residential School was closed in 1978. This was within my lifetime.
   The last residential school in this country was closed in 1996, within my child’s lifetime.
   The residential schools are the bleakest chapter in my county’s history.
   Sadly, the history is all too recent.
   Genocide existed in Canada in my lifetime.
   I am ashamed.
   These are only facts.

05/30/2021                                            j.g.l.