ANISHINABEK NATION HEAD OFFICE (June 4, 2021) – The Anishinabek Nation Chiefs-in-Assembly extend their deepest sympathies for the people of Tk’emlúps te Secwepemec First Nation during this time of deep sorrow and grief.

The Anishinabek Nation Chiefs issued this statement during the annual Grand Council Assembly that was hosted by Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation from June 1-3 via Zoom.

On May 27, 2021, the discovery of the buried remains of 215 children at a former Indian Residential School within the territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemec First Nation in Kamloops, British Columbia, was reported.

The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission details the harsh mistreatment inflicted upon Indigenous children that attended residential schools where at least 3,200 children died amid abuse and neglect.

The Anishinabek Nation is calling on the Government of Canada to:

• Declare a national day of mourning as August 3 (the 215th day of the calendar year) of each year to mark the terrible loss of innocent young lives that occurred at all Indian Residential Schools;
• Acknowledge the events that occurred at the Kamloops Indian Residential School as being part of a genocide conceived and carried out by the Government of Canada and Church Organizations;
• Provide the opportunity and resources for other First Nations and Indigenous people across Canada whose lives were forever impacted by the atrocity of the Indian Residential Schools to carry out surveys of former residential school sites as were completed at Kamloops, if and when they choose to do so;
• Abandon opposition to the Indian Residential Schools Survivors at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and claims for the full implementation of Jordan’s Principle;
• To ensure that legal accountability for these atrocities is pursued; and
• Finally provide meaningful and sustained support and resources from the legacy of the Indian Residential Schools, and to truly advance the long process of reconciliation.

The Anishinabek Nation Flag went half-mast at 11am on May 31 and will be lowered for 215 hours until June 9 at 10am. The Anishinabek Flag is flown in front of the Indian Residential School monument located at the Anishinabek Nation head office on Nipissing First Nation.