At least three mass graves have been found in Canada since last May, identified as the graves of the children of indigenous peoples. The incident is causing a flood of emotions across Canada. These graves belonged to indigenous students studying in residential schools. So far, at least 1,100 graves have been found in the vicinity of government-funded boarding schools in Canada. The BBC reports that the purpose of these boarding schools was to force Indigenous peoples to accept Canada’s European culture and to destroy Indigenous peoples’ own culture and language. But the discovery of this mass grave is nothing new in Canada. Throughout the history of the country, there is this scandalous activity; Which is now new in the world media.
The first mass grave was found in May near the town of Kamloops in the western Canadian province of British Columbia. Two hundred and fifteen graves were discovered using radar. The school in Kamloops had about 500 indigenous students studying together. The school was open from 1890 to 1969. So far, 651 bodies have been found in another mass grave in Saskatchewan province in June. One hundred and seventy-two bodies were found in a mass grave at another school in British Columbia. This school was in operation from 1912 to 1960. The country’s tribal leader, Chief Rozan Kasimir, said some of the tombs discovered may have been less than three years old. The bodies of thousands of children who died in these boarding schools were not sent to their relatives. From 184 to 1998, government-funded activities in at least 130 residential schools forcibly removed about 1.5 million indigenous Metis and Inuit children from their families. In the 1920s, boarding schools were made compulsory for indigenous children. Disobeying this order was punishable by imprisonment. Children had to leave their own language to learn English or French and convert to Christianity
A 2015 report by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, dubbed 2009, called the government’s actions a “cultural genocide.” At least 6,000 children died as a result of deliberate disregard for the government, the church and the school, the report said. Children were kept in extremely bad and unhealthy environments, severely punished, and denied medical care. The dire impact of this environment on children was known to all the leadership of the government. The report also noted that some children ran away from boarding schools after being physically and sexually abused. The rest die of various diseases or accidents or negligence. Until 1945, the infant mortality rate in tribal boarding schools was five times higher than other boarding schools. Survivors of the boarding school said that at different times they suddenly noticed that they could not find a friend. In some cases, children born out of wedlock were allegedly snatched from their mothers and thrown into the furnace.
Although Justin Trudeau’s government announced new measures, tribal leaders were not happy. They want the truth to be fully revealed first. That’s why tribal leaders Murray Sinclair and Chief Bellegard say mass graves need to be found in all 130 schools. The BBC reports that in the 1980s and 1990s, representatives of the United, Anglican and Protestant churches apologized for their actions, but no statement came from the pope, the Catholic Church’s supreme leader. In 2016, Trudeau called on Pope Francis to apologize, but the Vatican refused.
But is this mass grave in Canada just a matter of the church? According to The Guardian, the statues of British Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria have been smashed in Canada in connection with the mass grave incident. On Canada Day, July 1, a statue of Queen Victoria in Manitoba was covered in cloth, painted red, and thrown to the ground. These statues are an example of Canada’s colonial history to indigenous peoples. Thousands of people chanted “Shame on Canada” and “Bring them back” at a rally in Ottawa’s “Parliament Hill” area called “Cancel Canada Day.” A few days ago, a statue of Egerton Ryerson, known as the architect of the Canadian boarding school system, was also demolished. A message from the British Prime Minister’s Office said that the British government was protesting against the destruction of the statue of the British Queen. However, the statement also said that the British government expressed solidarity with the sentiments of Indigenous Canadians.
The government of Justin Trudeau of Canada and Britain’s attempt to bypass the mass graves of Downing Street aboriginal children have come as a blow to the British liberal secular ideology. While Trudeau wants to continue to blame the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church’s power in Canada’s liberal culture remains to be seen. At least some of the aborigines have realized that the blame should not be placed solely on the Catholic Church; That is why they also vandalized the statue of the British Queen. The history of this ‘cultural genocide’ in Canada in the British Commonwealth has resurfaced at a time when ‘Global Britain’ is trying to regain leadership in a changed world. While Britain’s efforts, along with those of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have been called into question in Canada, they also bring to light the history of the Australian Indigenous Genocide. The British government has not been able to stop the world from constantly being reminded of the racist history of the British leadership.
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