Interior First Nations bands visit residential school site as part of Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations

KAMLOOPS — In recent weeks, drumming and singing has become commonplace on the steps of the former Kamloops residential school.

Since the discovery of 215 unmarked graves last month, groups and individuals from far and wide have paid their respects.

On Monday (June 21), Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada, several people from bands around the South Interior came to gather.

“We’ve seen all the other celebrations and our elders have been couped up for a while, for about a year and a half with COVID. They finally felt safe enough, all of them are vaccinated and they were ready for a trip. Today was a day to show resiliency for Indigenous people, to show that we still have our songs, we still have our language, still have our culture,” said Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Chief Jimmy Lulua.

Each Interior First Nations band had an hour to spend time at the memorial, and for many, including residential school survivors, they were seeing each other for the first time. They also visited the memorial for the first time.

“What it means for us as Xeni Gwet’in people to come here is to pay respect. This is ground zero for residential school, the truth-telling, of what really actually happened,” said Lulua. “Our people have been saying this forever. They’ve been telling this story for a long time, but people have never believed them simply because of our identity as Indigenous people. Now, they can no longer hide the truth.”

It’s an emotional sight for survivors like John Jones, who attended a residential school on Vancouver Island and has horrific memories of friends being taken away.

“There were a few times that the supervisors got children ready. I ran to the window, and nobody came to pick them up. They just disappeared,” he said. “I didn’t get to grieve for my friends that just disappeared.”

Jones now works for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. It’s healing for him and helping others as well. Gatherings like the one on Monday also aid in moving forward.

“When we come together, it’s for a reason. That’s how we stand. We stand together as First Nations people — people of this land,” said Jones. “I really believe that when we come together, we grow stronger.”