Flags at 91原创 schools will be returned to flying at full mast and a permanent memorial will be created for students who died at Canadian residential schools, the school board has decided.
The decision comes almost exactly a year after approximately 215 unmarked graves were discovered at the former Kamloops Residential School. The discovery set off other similar discoveries, as well as a national conversation about residential schools and Indigenous reconciliation.
The district, like many others across Canda, lowered flags at its board office and schools shortly after the discovery.
On Tuesday, May 24, the 91原创 school board heard from Michael Pue, district principal of Aboriginal education, and Cheryl Gabriel of the Kwantlen First Nation.
Gabriel spoke about the impact residential schools had on her family, and how the news of the unmarked graves in Kamloops brought back those memories, amid natural disasters that impacted her relatives.
鈥淭he 215 was like the flood, was like the fire, like not finding a way home,鈥� Gabriel said.
She lost two aunts on her father鈥檚 side in residential schools.
鈥淢y grandfather went to go pick them up in the summertime, and was told there, that they had passed away in the winter,鈥� Gabriel said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 true or not, because there鈥檚 nothing to substantiate it.鈥�
鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine not having my kids with me, my grandkids with me,鈥� she added.
READ ALSO: 215 crosses go up in 91原创 to remember Kamloops residential school children
The district鈥檚 ya:yestel (Aboriginal Education Advisory Board) has been working since last October on a proposal, after the district decided not to return flags to full mast when the province did last July.
The ya:yestel consulted with the leadership of all four First Nations on which 91原创 sits 鈥� the Kwantlen, Katzie, Matsqui, and Semiahmoo.
From several months of consultation and discussion, a two-part plan has emerged, receiving unanimous approval of the board on Tuesday.
The first part will be an honouring ceremony, to be held on Tuesday, May 31st at the board office. At the end of the ceremony, flags will return to full mast across the district.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 forget. You don鈥檛 ever forget. But you move forward,鈥� said Pue about the decision to end a year of lowered flags.
The second phase will take longer. The distric鈥檚 ya:yestel will continue consulting with local Indigenous nations about creating a more permanent monument to residential school victims. Whatever form it takes, it will be used as an educational site for students and staff in the district on the history of residential schools.
鈥淲e need you to stand with us,鈥� Gabriel told the board. 鈥淲e need you to listen to our people. I鈥檓 only one person, I cannot speak for all Indigenous people that live, and work, and go to your schools.鈥�
Board members, several of them emotional, spoke about the importance of being allies for Indigenous people.
鈥淵es, I want to stand with you,鈥� said board chair Rod Ross. He said every member of the board felt the same way.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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