Statement On the Discovery of 215 Indigenous Children Buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School

The discovery of the remains of 215 children as young as 3 at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Canada is a painful reminder of the dark history of forced assimilation and genocide of Indigenous people throughout North America. It is an overdue confirmation of what survivors and their communities have always known: abusive boarding schools tore more than 150,000 children from their families and cultures for over 150 years, inflicting mass intergenerational trauma.

JBA honors those children and mourns with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and all those working to heal from the violent oppression of Indigenous people. As we collectively process this tragedy, let us also reflect on what we can do today. Our Indigenous children are valuable, sacred, and critical to our future. We must protect, love, listen to, and believe them.

JBA stands in solidarity with all tribal Nations to create solutions for systemic change. Learn how you can support the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.