A support line to assist survivors of Canada’s residential school system has been inundated with calls as Indigenous Peoples contend with the discovery of unmarked graves.
It’s been nearly a month since the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Since then, another 715 unmarked graves have been uncovered – this time in Saskatchewan. The discoveries have left some people in shock, but for Indigenous people who knew the truth and who lived through it, the hurt and trauma is all the more poignant.
“People are hurt,” says Nola Jeffrey, executive director of the Tsow-Tun Le Lum Society substance abuse and trauma treatment centre in Lantzville, B.C.
Jeffrey told CTV News on Saturday that the centre operates a support line that is intended to offer compassionate help for residential school survivors to process and talk about their trauma. She says the support line has been overwhelmed with phone calls since the discovery of unmarked graves last month.
“There’s people that even though they knew the truth, it’s still a shock to the body to find that many children,” she explained.
On Friday, following the most recent discovery in Saskatchewan, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a press conference where he said Canadians were ‘horrified and ashamed.’
In an earlier statement issued Thursday night, the prime minister also noted that Canada had a responsibility to bear, saying, “The findings in Marieval and Kamloops are part of a larger tragedy. They are a shameful reminder of the systemic racism, discrimination, and injustice that Indigenous peoples have faced – and continue to face – in this country.”
He added, “Together, we must acknowledge this truth, learn from our past, and walk the shared path of reconciliation, so we can build a better future.”
For Nola Jeffrey, the road to reconciliation involves ongoing support for survivors and their families. She also says the government has a duty to find all the unmarked graves and to identify the remains.
“This impacts everyone,” Jeffrey said. “Schools are a place where you go to learn, where you’re nurtured, where your gifts are brought forward, where you’re cared for. And that didn’t happen in those places; it was exactly the opposite.”
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll free line at 1-800-721-0066.
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
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