St. Mary’s University has lowered its flag to half mast this week to honour the 215 children whose remains were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.

We extend our condolences to the families and communities who were, and continue to be, affected by the colonial violence of residential school policies. Our hearts break for the thousands of students who never returned home. We must never forget this legacy; we must do better.

We take heed from Murray Sinclair’s words, “It is precisely because education was the primary tool of oppression of Aboriginal people, and miseducation of all Canadians, that we have concluded that education holds the key to reconciliation.”

#EveryChildMatters

Michelle Scott,
Director of Indigenous Initiatives

Gerry Turcotte,
President