Mondays memorial at Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc saw Indigenous and non-Indigenous people come together at the Powwow Arbour in honour and remembrance of the 215 unmarked graves discovered last year.
Speaking with NL News, Canada’s Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller says there were a lot of mixed emotions, including the hope for a better future.
“But also a sense of allyship that is nice to see,” he said. “A lot lies on the shoulders of our government to make sure that we are standing beside communities making the investments for communities in a very very difficult context.
In an effort to take steps forward in healing and reconciliation, Miller says a top priority for him is listening to the stories of residential school survivors.
“I think it is important as well to understand is that there are many people that are speaking for the first time but there are also people that are suffering still in silence because of what happened to them,” he said noting the government wants to develop a “proper policy.”
“But policy cannot be done in a vacuum, it has to be done in a way that reflects what survivors have said.”
Miller adds that there is still a long path of healing to support communities impacted by the unmarked graves, adding there “will be a much longer path for what could be 140 different sites across the country [as] some are in different states of readiness than others.”
Miller also told NL News he recognizes that healing the relationship between Indigenous communities and the federal government will need to be done at the time and pace of each nation impacted by the unmarked graves.
“Some of the conclusions that come out of that is that people don’t want the same model reproduced across the country where they were talking about children in care, support for languages, support for education and communities according to the terms set forth by the communities themselves,” he explained.
“We have to act in a way that’s conscientious and much more across these communities is something that is much more than simple, short-term solutions.”
He noted some of the medium and long-term steps towards healing and reconciliation from the federal government include wellness centres, support for survivors, and mental health trauma supports.
“It really depends on the community in question and the leadership in question, but it has to be involved and it cant be reactive, which is something we obviously struggle with on a community by community basis, but clearly as the federal government,” Miller added.
“We cannot be sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to happen.”