Batchewana First Nation is grieving the discovery of 215 child remains at a Kamloops residential school, Chief Dean Sayers says.
Sayers says the discovery is an opportunity for Saultites to educate themselves about the residential school system, both across Canada and locally.
The Chief also urges all levels of government to recognize the proper jurisdiction of lands and resources of Indigenous Peoples.
The full text of Chief Dean Sayers' statement to the media reads as follows:
The leadership of Batchewana First Nation (BFN) want to acknowledge the grieving that is taking place with their First Nations relatives to the West after the discovery of 215 child remains were discovered at the Kamloops residential school.
Unfortunately this grieving process is familiar for most First Nations who are continuously dealing with the aftermath of residential schools.
BFN Leadership are calling on the government of Canada to take inventory of their relationship with the Indigenous Peoples of this country and evaluate what positive changes need to take place in the name of reconciliation.
True reconciliation is facing the reality and returning the lands and resources as per the unsurrendered jurisdictions of Indigenous People across Canada. For Indigenous People to thrive we need to deal with the reality and stop promoting the archaic policies the Canadian government still enforces across First Nations Territory.
“It was encouraging to see the turn out at Algoma University yesterday for the Kamloops memorial. It gives us a chance to see the support at the local level which means people are taking the initiative to educate themselves about the Residential School experience and we truly appreciate that. I think this is a great initial step forward and we hope the Canadian government can learn from these actions," said Chief Sayers.
Further, the Chief and Council of BFN challenge all levels of government, educational institutions and agencies to include an acknowledgement that Indigenous People are still here and recognize the proper jurisdiction of lands and resources to see the return to Indigenous People where those actions are aligned with legal history.