More grim findings soon followed from other First Nations communities. In my many years reporting on the residential school system — established to eradicate Indigenous identity and cultures — I hadn’t seen the same level of intense public reaction that these recent events evoked. The unmarked graves seemed to have made real the horrors of residential schools for many Canadians and people around the world. It was while reporting on the issue in Kamloops, British Columbia, that I had a meeting I won’t soon forget. Garry Gottfriedson is a residential school survivor, educator, a former rancher and a poet who studied under Allen Ginsberg.

Source: thestar January 01, 2022 16:06 UTC