B.C. First Nation calling on province to search for remains of children on Vancouver Island
Chief Councillor Ken Watts of the Tseshaht First Nation on Vancouver Island is demanding answers and a search for the remains of Indigenous children.
"They have to help us do the research here to determine if we have unmarked graves," said Watts on Tuesday. "To determine if there are burials here in our community because of the Alberni Indian Residential School."
After the remains of 215 children were discovered buried on the property of the Kamloops Residential School site, the Tseshaht First Nation is calling on the federal government to fund ground penetrating radar use in Port Alberni.
"We've heard rumors of some instances where some students didn't make it home," said Watts.
The Alberni Residential School was in operation from 1900 to 1973. According to the University of Manitoba, 30 students are confirmed to have died at the school and the school has a very cruel history.
In 2013 it was revealed that children in the Alberni Residential School were starved in the name of science. They were not allowed vitamins, dental care or milk.
"Who knew about it and who authorized it?" asked then-Chief Hugh Braker in 2013. "Of depriving children of milk, what the effect would be on their health."
Ry Moran is the associate university librarian for reconciliation at the University of Victoria. He says with the recent news out of Kamloops, the reality of Canada’s dark history with residential schools is setting in. Now is the time for action so healing can take place, he says.
"The record and understanding that kids were not going home were well established and well understood," said Moran. "What hasn't happened is the supports being provided to communities to do the important work that needs to happen."
In the meantime, a GoFundMe campaign was launched on Tuesday by Steve Sxwithultxw. He’s an island residential school survivor.
The goal was to raise $25,000 to buy a ground penetrating unit and begin the work to search the grounds of all five island school sites. In just 24 hours, more than $25,000 had been raised in support of the project.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.