The old residential school of India Kamloops, where, in 2021, TK̓emlúps te secwépemc shared that the preliminary findings of a penetrating radar survey in the ground had found about 200 potential tombs unmarked in the bases of the institution, they have been designated as A national historical site.
The old residential school was nominated to become a national historical site by TK̓emlúps Te Secwépemc, and the federal government worked with the first nation to determine its importance, Parks Canada said in a press release on Wednesday.
National historical sites are designated as places that have shaped Canada, whether good or bad, to help Canadians understand the past and present of the country.
“The designation symbolizes the hope and vision of our ancestors for a prosperous future for our children, and those that are not yet born,” TK̓emlúps Te Secwépemc Kúkpi7 (boss) Rosanne Casimir said in a statement.
Many of the buildings on the site have been preserved and used for education, even in the language and culture of Secwépemc.
The Indian residential school Kamloops was operational from 1890 to 1969, after which the federal government took over the administration of the Catholic Church to operate it as a residence for a day school, until it closed in 1978.
Up to 500 students would have registered at school at a given time, according to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, and those children would have come from communities of the first nations in BC and beyond.
It was one of the many residential schools and daytime schools throughout the country; More than 150,000 first nations, Metis and Inuit children were forced to attend residential schools administered by the Church and funded by the Government between the 1870s and 1997.
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation estimates that some 4,100 children died in Canadian residential schools, depending on the death records, but has said that the true total is probably much higher. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission said that a large number of indigenous children who were sent to residential schools never returned home.
Several other residential schools have also been designated as national historical sites, including Muscowequan residential schools, Portage La Prairi, Shingwauk and Shubenacieie.
In a statement, Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Responsible Minister of Parks Canada, who deals with historical sites, said the designation recognizes the damages perpetrated against those who attended the institution by force.
“The designation of the old residential school of India Kamloop as a site of national historical importance will serve as a testimony and a commemorative monument for children who were forced to live there and who died there,” Guilbeault said. “The legacy of its stories will resonate in future generations.”
