“Impacts of Residential School are Still Alive” Mary Teegee

This morning Mary Teegee, Chair of the Indigenous Child & Family Services Directors, spoke on CBC Radio’s Early Edition about the legacy of residential schools within today’s child welfare system.

Mary noted that the children’s remains found last week at the Kamloops Indian Residential School stand as a stark reminder of the atrocities of the residential schools and that “the impacts of the residential schools are still alive, and we are still feeling them today.”

Mary described how the Canadian government knew for decades about the horrific conditions in the residential schools—and did nothing. Similarly, the Canadian government knew that Indigenous children and families were suffering in an underfunded and misdirected child welfare system and did nothing until they were forced to take action by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

The Indigenous Child & Family Services Directors call on both the Provincial and Federal governments to follow through on the promise of concrete action by dedicating the resources needed to breathe life into the many recommendations made over the years, including the Spirit Bear Plan developed by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

Listen: The legacy of residential schools courses through Canada today