After several days of pressure, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered that after the arrest of 215 Indigenous children, half-mast should be hoisted on all federal buildings, including the Ottawa Parliament Building and Peace Tower. Established In a boarding school.

Trudeau said in a tweet on Sunday afternoon that the move was “to commemorate the 215 children who lost their lives in the former Kamloops boarding school and all the indigenous children who have never returned home, the survivors and their families. “.

After an aboriginal in British Columbia announced this week that the remains of 215 children had been found at the site of the Kamloops Indian residential school, leaders of the indigenous community and many others called on the Canadian government to lay down the flag. .

“As far as we know, these missing children are undocumented deaths,” said Tk’emlúpste Secwépemc, president of the First Nations.

To commemorate the 215 children living in the former Kamloops boarding school and all the indigenous children who have never returned home, survivors and their families, I request that the flag of the Peace Tower and the flags on all federal buildings be reduced. Half-mast

-Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 30 2021

This discovery inspired “Collective pain and trauma“At the same time, it also aroused calls for the government to take concrete actions to address the history and ongoing abuse of rights against the indigenous people, Metis and Inuit.

In 2015, the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded that Canada has implemented a residential school system for decades and is committed to “cultural genocide.”

Between the 1870s and the 1990s, more than 150,000 Aboriginal children were forced to attend schools, which were run by churches in order to force Aboriginal children into Canadian white society.

These children were separated from their families, were prohibited from speaking indigenous languages, and many suffered physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, as well as other forms of abuse.

Kamloops Indian Boarding School was founded in 1890 and managed by the Catholic Church. It eventually became the largest school in the Canadian boarding school system, with 500 children at the peak of enrollment in the early 1950s.

Charlie Angus, a member of the opposition New Democratic Party Parliament, said: “The terrible news of the discovery of 215 child bodies has brought us great sadness and trauma.” Say On Twitter on Sunday. “I’m very happy that the prime minister agreed to lower the flag. But this is only the beginning. We need answers. We need accountability.”

More than 4,000 indigenous children are known to have died in boarding schools, but people are still trying to find others who have never returned.

The discovery in Kamloops raised long-standing questions about the continuing legacy of Canadian colonialism and the intergenerational trauma associated with boarding schools, which is still being felt by Aboriginal communities across the country.

Many observers also criticized Trudeau’s promise to re-establish relations with the indigenous people, pointing out that some survivors of residential schools are still fighting for justice in court.

Trudeau’s predecessor Stephen Harper (Stephen Harper) formally apologized for the boarding school system in 2008. However, even though schools may be closed, indigenous children are still being taken away from their homes in large numbers across Canada.

According to census data, more than 52% of children in foster care institutions in 2016 were indigenous children, and indigenous children only accounted for 7.7% of the country’s total population.

The observer also pointed out that so far, the “call to action” of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has rarely been implemented.According to CBC News, out of 94 recommendations, only 10 were received fully As of April 12 this year.

The Yellowhead Institute, a research center led by First Nations, stated in December 2020 that only eight studies have been carried out. It said: “In the end, we discovered that Canada is failing the survivors and their families who live in school.”

The committee urged the Pope to “apologize to the survivors, their families and communities in memory of the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of indigenous people, Inuit and Métis children by Catholics. Play the role of opening a boarding school”.

Most boarding schools are run by the Roman Catholic Church.

Trudeau also asked for an apology to the Pope, but Pope Francis stated in March 2018 that he would not issue an apology from the Pope. The Prime Minister said: “Obviously, the Catholic Church has decided not to apologize for their role in boarding schools, and I am disappointed by that,” Say then.

Before Trudeau’s announcement on Sunday, several local leaders, including the mayor of Ottawa and Toronto, announced that they would also lower their flags to commemorate the indigenous children who died at Kamloops boarding school.

The town of Merritt, British Columbia, said on Friday that it will lower its flag for 215 hours in memory of 215 children. Mayor Linda Brown said in a statement: “We must face reality and admit that boarding school-related atrocities have been committed in communities we know and love.”