Flags outside of all Thames Valley District School Board buildings have been lowered to mourn the Indigenous people found in 751 unmarked graves at a cemetery near a former residential school in Saskatchewan.
The flags will fly at half-staff until further notice, the board said in a statement.
"Thames Valley’s thoughts go out to Cowessess First Nation and Indigenous Peoples following the announcement of 751 unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. This is another reminder of the truth about the genocide against Indigenous Peoples," the board said.
The grim discovery was made public last Thursday. The 751 unmarked graves were located using ground-penetrating radar. Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme said the Roman Catholic church, which oversaw the cemetery, is believed to have removed the headstones from the graves in the 1960s.
The Marieval Indian Residential School operated from 1899 to 1997.
This is the second time since the end of May Thames Valley has lowered its flags in recognition of Indigenous children whose remains were found in unmarked graves at a residential school. Last month, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation publicly announced the remains of the 215 Indigenous children, some as young as three-years-old, were confirmed buried on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C. That prompted the school board to fly its flags at half-staff for 215 hours and change its exterior school signs to read “215+ Lives Lost, Every Child Matters.”
The board is making school mental health professionals available to students and families. They will be available as of July 2, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can be reached by phone at 548-486-5188 or email at tvdsbcares@tvdsb.ca. Indigenous counsellors are available, the school board noted.
People struggling to cope with the discoveries can also contact the Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066 or the 24-hour Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419.
