Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc says his letters were not answered, nor was his request that Trudeau provide a filmed speech that could have been broadcast on September 30.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not respond to two letters inviting him to attend a Day of Truth and Reconciliation event in Kamloops, says a First Nation, still reeling from the horrifying discovery of more than 200 nameless graves of children in a old residential school.
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The Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc issued a statement Thursday in response to a public apology the day before Trudeau for vacationing in Tofino with his family on September 30.
“There are no words that can express the level of pain and sadness that the confirmation of the anonymous graves of missing children from the Kamloops Indigenous Residential School and other residential schools has brought to indigenous peoples across the country,” the statement said. . “We need to work collectively to give Le Estcwéý (the disappeared) the dignity they never had.”
As part of their healing journey, the members of Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc planned an event to honor the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
They said that two invitation letters were sent to the prime minister’s office to participate in the event, however, they were not answered, nor was their request for a filmed speech that could have been broadcast on September 30. They called this “an additional insult,” but said they hope to meet with Trudeau later this month to discuss what is needed for reconciliation.
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“His presence would have shown the world his personal commitment to enact real change and rectify the historic mistakes of the residential school system and to personally support the survivors of grieving Indian residential schools,” the statement said. “The lack of response to our invitations was an additional insult, as he never extended his personal hand of condolence to our community once he heard the official announcement (on May 27).”
Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc is calling on the Canadian government to fund a healing center in Kamloops to help survivors and intergenerational trauma caused by residential schools. They also want continued government support to ensure full and complete disclosure of the records held by the Canadian government, specifically, the student attendance records that were created by the institutions that administered the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
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“Those primary documents, currently in the custody of the Canadian government, will be of vital importance in identifying missing children,” the statement said.
Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc said they will meet Trudeau later this month in Kamloops.
“The focus of this visit should be on the real problems of reconciliation, not on a media event to compensate for their lack of participation in the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.”
From Trudeau presence in Tofino last Thursday It was a surprise after his itinerary initially said he was in Ottawa.
Trudeau acknowledged Wednesday that the first National Truth and Reconciliation Day was an important moment for all people, indigenous and non-indigenous, to reflect and remember.
“Traveling on September 30 was a mistake and I regret it,” he said during a press conference held to announce mandatory vaccination rules for federal workers and travelers.
Trudeau’s office said Sunday that the prime minister spoke with Tḱemlúps te Secwepemc’s head of the nation, Rosanne Casimir, on Saturday and apologized for not accepting invitations to celebrate Sept. 30 in the community.
– With files from Postmedia News
Reference-vancouversun.com