Two Hundred and Fifteen Solar Lights placed at Tk’emlups te Secwépemc to Honour Each Beautiful Soul by Secwépemc Child & Family Services Agency

A sacred fire has been lit at Moccasin Square Gardens near where the children were found. The fire keepers have been watching over the fire since Saturday and will stay through Monday. Community members, survivors and chiefs from around Secwepemul’ecw have been gathering at the site, holding drumming circles, praying and singing the children home.

The children buried at Kamloops Indian Residential School remind us that these horrifying events are still with us: these children still have parents and siblings alive today. Their grief and loss is as sharp today as it was the day they lost their children.

We hold each of these sacred little bundles in our hearts and our thoughts, as well as each of our beautiful people who sit in sorrow as they reflect on the atrocities of the schools they were forced to attend.

We hold our hands up to Tk’emlups te Secwépemc who never gave up on finding the truth and who remain the keepers of the land that holds our sweet ancestors.

We honour the ancestors we have lost to murder and attempted genocide. We hold the ancestors in our hearts as we walk with today’s children, youth and families along their healing journeys.