215.
There is no more of a profound truth than having to come to terms with the death of a child.
Equal to this burden is coming to terms with the deaths of many children.
Their stories are our individual and collective story. Their deaths are our living memories.
We are children buried in time. We are children living in time. We are children anchored in time.
We are children, and we are survivors of Indian Residential Schools.
Let us all breathe life into their memory, and let us all breathe life into each other.
The story of the Indian in Canada – is the story of Canada. Canada’s history is but a single grain of sand on an unending beach of our history – our collective Indigenous history.
Let us unearth this rich history and honor every child in our homes and communities.
Let us unearth the legacy of hurt and grief and renew our spirits with the promise of hope and prosperity.
Let us make every child matter, and let us make each and every one of us matter.
We, the BC Association of Community Response Networks Board of Directors, Executive and Regional Consultants & Contractors, stand together in humility and grace to honor the memory of the 215 children buried at Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc territory, and to all survivors who endured and suffered the stain of Indian Residential Schools.
Written at Quw’utsun’ on June 14, 2021.
Thlaapkiituup – Derek Thompson.
