‘No words can do justice’: B.C. top doctor says action needed after Kamloops mass grave discovery

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry opened Monday’s health update with powerful words of support for those affected by the recent mass grave discovery, and a call to action to uphold the rights of Indigenous people.

Henry starts with a brief pause to acknowledge, remember, and mourn the children whose remains were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

“I struggled to find words to express my horror and grief after the discovery of these remains of 215 First Nations children,” she says. “I realized it’s because there are no words that can do justice to those children, and the countless others who died alone and scared, far from home or from the families who loved them.”

Henry says there are no words that can make right an “intentional system” that was designed to assimilate and extinguish Indigenous peoples.

“For today I don’t offer words, but rather, my renewed commitment to actions that arrest and disrupt our deeply rooted ideologies of settler supremacy,” she says.

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Henry goes on to acknowledge that while these deaths may have occurred in the past, our laws and systems continue to perpetuate racism and discrimination that hurt Indigenous people in many ways.

“Today, I’m here as a humble learner in reconciliation and decolonization,” she says, adding she is so grateful for the First Nations and Metis leaders who continue to teach and share their knowledge with her.

“This is hard work that requires us leaders, and settlers in our systems, to find the courage to accept that this is our history of colonization. It’s not something that happened to First Nations Children’s and families. This is something we did to First Nations Children’s and families. We are all implicated in this tragedy,” she says.

Henry then says all of us must ask ourselves what meaningful action we can take to uphold the rights of Indigenous peoples, as we look to honour those affected by the Indian residential school system.

“I’m very grateful that I have a team that is committed to this, and we will be coming together once again reflecting on the many paths that we have forward — the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action; the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls calls for justice; the In Plain Sight recommendations that we received earlier this year, and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples act,” she says.

Henry says we must hold ourselves accountable to the ongoing process of reconciliation.

“We cannot get stuck in our shame and grief, but rather commit to ourselves to one another and to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples that we will deliberately and intentionally take actions that will serve to heal, rather than harm. From this day forth,” Henry says.

Emotional support or assistance for those who are affected by the residential school system can be found at Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free 1 (800) 721-0066 or 24 hr Crisis Line 1 (866) 925-4419.