We were horrified to learn of the 215 children buried at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. However, we should not be shocked - Indigenous communities have known and spoken about the atrocities committed at residential schools for generations.
For our community to take one more important step on the path to truth and reconciliation, we urge the UBC administration to revoke Bishop John Fergus O'Grady’s honorary degree. Please read these powerful statements by Indigenous scholars and UBC units, for whom engagement with Indigenous communities is essential to their operation, and most importantly, by the Office of the Chief, Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir:
- Statement from the Office of the Chief, Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir
- The discovery of a mass grave at a former residential school is just the tip of the iceberg, Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond (Aki-Kwe), director of the Residential School History and Dialogue Centre and a professor of law at the Peter A. Allard School of Law
- Statement on the Kamloops Indian Residential School burials, Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre
- Statement on the Kamloops Indian Residential School Burials, Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies
- Twitter thread by Dr. Daniel Heath Justice
- Twitter thread by Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot
The Language Sciences Steering Committee: Drs. Bryan Gick, Janet Werker, Sidney Fels, Raymond Ng, Guofang Li, Mark Turin, Daisy Rosenblum, Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, Tony Herdman, Heidi Tworek, Xuejun Ryan Ji.