The Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc will sign what is considered a “sacred pact” with the Catholic archdioceses of Vancouver and Kamloops in a ceremony that will take place on Easter Sunday.
The signing will be preceded by a visit to the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, where the First Nation continues to investigate the discovery of 215 possible unmarked graves.
“Giving justice to the children who never returned home is being able to identify who they are, bringing peace to the families and the truth about the children’s death,” said Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc.
The sacred covenant will describe the historical record, establish what the parties call shared truths, and contain commitments for action in the future.
Those commitments include identifying ways to commemorate missing children and sharing complete and transparent information that can help identify them, including files and records.
“We wish to journey with the people of the Tk̓emlúps Nation on a path toward greater healing, greater understanding and greater respect,” said Archbishop J. Michael Miller of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
The signing ceremony will not be open to the media or the public, and the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc say this is partly because some past events have been disrupted by so-called residential school deniers who dispute the horrific stories detailed by survivors and documented in Reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
During a press conference Thursday, Archbishop Miller sought to distance the church from those who do not believe the residential school system has inflicted significant harm on Indigenous children, their families and their descendants who continue to live with intergenerational trauma.
“The Church has been quite clear, very clear in fact, about the tragedy of the residential school system, the degree to which the Catholic parties collaborated, and there is no doubt that this was a tragedy in the past,” he said. “And I think those who claim that it wasn’t like that are certainly wrong in their judgment.”
As the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc continue to investigate possible unmarked graves, Archbishop Miller said the archdiocese has made available all records in its possession in an effort to help identify the missing students.
However, he acknowledged that there are records outside Vancouver, outside his scope, that have not been made available.
“It is certainly our desire that all records be shared. Nothing is gained by not fully sharing the records,” Archbishop Miller said.
He went on to say that he understands that other archdioceses within Canada are eager and willing to share the records they possess, but he could not say whether that would include records kept at the Vatican.
In the almost three years since the initial announcement of the possible unmarked graves in May 2021, there have been many questions about why the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc have not begun an excavation in an effort to confirm the existence of children’s bodies.
Kúkpi7 Casimir has not ruled out a possible exhumation of possible human remains, but said it is something that should include conversations with residential school survivors, Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc people and other First Nations whose children were forcibly removed to attend the Kamloops Indian. Residential school.
“We have not started excavation,” said Kúkpi7 Casimir. “That’s a very delicate step forward.”