Kahnawake residents create memorial for 215 children found buried at B.C. residential school site

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

First Nations and Indigenous communities across the countryhave been paying tribute to the 215 childrenwhose remains were found in an unmarked burial site at a residential school in Kamloops, B.C., this week.

In Kahnawake, a reserve just south ofMontreal,residents placed 215 pairs of children's shoes on the steps of theFrancis Xavier Mission Catholic Church this weekend.

Jessica Oesterreich, a radio host withKahnawake's K103.7, helped organize the memorial after she saw a similar tribute outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.

She put a call out on social media for people to contribute shoes that would symbolizethe lives lost.

"I have this feeling as an individual, wantingto acknowledgewhat happened to those children but being unable to really hold the Church accountable in a meaningful way," Oesterreich said in an interview on Sunday.

She chose the location for the display in order to "remind the Church 'this is whathappened, you are responsible for it on some level.'"

The Kamloops residential school operated between 1890 and 1969. The federal government took over the facility's operation from the Catholic Church and ran it as a day school until it closed in 1978.

The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission has records of at least 51 children dying at the school between 1915 and 1963.

Oesterreich said that even though the remains were found on the West Coast, the legacy of the residential school system affects people across the country.

"Being able to grieve for those children that we know have been found and the ones who are still gone and nobody knows what happenedto them and where they are is a step toward healing as a communityand as First Nations people," she said.

The remains were found using aground-penetrating radar and work is underway by forensic experts to identify andrepatriate the bodies.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, told CBCthe discovery confirms what community survivors have said for years that many children went to the school and never returned.

Kakaionstha Deer, a residential school survivor who lives in Kahnawake, said that when she saw images of the shoe memorial in Vancouver, she was moved: "It just hit me right in my heart."

The 83-year-old was sent to a residential school in Ontario when she was six years old and lived there for three years.

"I have suffered every day of my life knowing that this has happened to me," said Deer.

WATCH | Kakaionstha Deer shares her story:

Kahnawake residential school survivor Kakaionstha Deer shares her story

3 years ago

Duration 2:48

WARNING: Some viewers may find the content distressing.

Deer said during her time at the school, it was not uncommon for children never to return to their families.

"We were not given good food to eat. A lot of girls got sick and died of tuberculosis and measles," she said.

Deer has sharedher experience of neglect and sexual abuse with youthin the community to teach them about the history of the system.

She said that creating a visual memorial serves as a way to honour the dead.

"We're mourning for them because nobody mourned for them," said Deer. "We honour them by remembering them."

Deer said shining a light on this discovery, and her own story, helps people to understand what really went on at these institutions.

"We're bringing it out in the open to let all of Canada know what happened to them."

Support available

Support is available for anyone affected by theeffects of residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

TheIndian Residential School Survivors Society(IRSSS) can be contacted toll-freeat1-800-721-0066.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for formerstudents and those affected.

People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.