Police are investigating after someone ripped a commemorative tile off a Vancouver Island First Nation grave site and vandalized it with racist graffiti.
Tanna Weir of Qualicum First Nation posted photos of the cruel act of vandalism on Friday.
In them, a gravestone is spray-painted with a derogatory racist slur aimed at Indigenous people, with a granite tile torn off.
"A face plate off one our loved one's final resting place was stolen," Weir wrote. "It was mounted on a piece of granite we would very much like the face plate returned to its proper place please share."
Each granite stone is in memory of someone who has died from the Qualicum First Nation, Chief Michael Recalma told CTV News.
Donna Kennedy, a councillor with the First Nation, said having to call family members of the person whose name plate was stolen was heartbreaking.
"They were very hurt and couldn't understand how somebody could do something like that," she said. "It's so disrespectful."
Weir's post has since been shared more than 2,200 times on Facebook, with many calling the act "horrible," "inexcusable" and "sickening."
"Sad to think that this kind of racism still exists towards First Nations people in 2018," one person wrote. "Socially it's our responsibility to teach our family and our friends that racism is not ok."
Oceanside RCMP is investigating the vandalism, which has since been cleaned up.
Anyone with information is asked to contact RCMP at 250-248-6111.
