Kamloops Residential School: Follow-up Statement

Content warning: Residential schools, death 

Recently we shared a response addressing the news around the discovery of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. As the weeks have progressed, we acknowledge the ongoing investigation of additional unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools across Canada. We extend our thoughts to the Tk’emlups Secwépemc First Nation and each of the Indigenous communities, Nations, families and youth affected by this news.  

As a settler organization, we have a significant responsibility to call out and dismantle colonialism in the work that we do and reflect on how we have contributed and benefited from the genocidal displacement of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples. At Foundry, we are working respectfully to hold and nurture relationships with Indigenous Peoples, including Indigenous youth and family advisors, staff, lead agencies and partners, who lead, guide and inform our work. 

Providing safer and more inclusive care for Indigenous young people, families and communities is our priority. In order to do this work well, we must cultivate cultural safety and humility. As an organization we strive to achieve this by:  

  1. Holding ourselves accountable when we make mistakes and learning from them. Recently, we posted a message on Facebook to honour and celebrate National Indigenous History Month. An Indigenous staff member noted that the language we used was insensitive and caused harm. We decided to take the post down and consulted with our Indigenous Wellness Team, to debrief and learn from this experience. At the moment, we are working on revising the original content and look forward to sharing this again at a later date.
  2. Making a significant commitment to developing, implementing and sustaining an Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility Framework. This includes the creation of an Indigenous Wellness Team led and staffed by Indigenous folks in Foundry who work alongside Indigenous consultants and knowledge keepers.
  3. Making a commitment to ensure that all Foundry staff participate in ongoing learning opportunities to increase our knowledge of the historical and current experiences of colonization and genocide.
  4. Committing to hearing and telling the truth of the continuing harm resulting from the ongoing colonization of Indigenous Peoples.
  5. Committing to building resources, investing in Indigenous staff and supporting the Indigenous Wellness work across the province where Foundry has a presence.
  6. Honouring and supporting Indigenous colleagues as knowledge keepers who help guide our growth and humility in this work.  

Words and good intentions are not enough. We know that these are all starting points and that Foundry needs to do more to redress the centuries of genocide that continues to take place on the stolen, ancestral and occupied territories of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples who have been here for millennia.  

We invite you to learn more from Indigenous resources that have been recommended to us by the Indigenous Wellness Team at Foundry as a starting point: 

For more information on Indigenous-led supports and services available to those who need it, please refer to these organizations below: 

Kamloops Residential School Response

Trigger warning: Residential Schools

Foundry is deeply devastated to learn that remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. So many children were taken from their families from many Nations and communities as a result of the residential school system. We keep all of those who did not have a child return home, as well as the survivors of residential schools, in our hearts today and always.

We extend our thoughts to the Tk’emlups Secwépemc First Nation and all of the Indigenous communities, Nations, families and youth who have been affected by this tragic discovery.

This news impacts Indigenous Peoples in ways that bring forward unimaginable trauma. We encourage survivors and family members to reach out for support. We thank the First Nations Health Authority for calling on health partners to mobilize supports for the Tk’emlúps community and others as circumstances unfold.

Here are supports and services available to those who need it:

We honour the children whose lives have been lost at the hands of colonization, residential schools and incomprehensible violence. They are not forgotten, and we must keep all of them in our work every day.

Our hearts are heavy and communities are in pain, but we as a settler organization must continue to learn and unlearn our history and acknowledge our role within the structures that harm Indigenous youth. We must bring attention to the needs of Indigenous communities today, and step up to support intergenerational and Elders survivors of residential school. We encourage non-Indigenous allies to please donate to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society as uptake of their supports and services – and their need for resourcing – increases in response to this tragic news.

-Foundry’s Indigenous Wellness team