Residential school survivors are calling on Canada to criminalize residential school denialism, echoing one of the findings in a report about unmarked graves and burial sites associated with the institutions.
Doug George, a survivor of the Mohawk Institute, says Canadians need to acknowledge the schools’ place in history and to ensure the children who died are not silenced.
“Canadians might be, you know, maybe feeling as though it’s been a bit overwhelming over the past few years,” George said, referencing the announcements from First Nations about their efforts to locate their missing children.
“But you can imagine what it’s like for us and our children and our communities? You can’t hide behind these things. You’ve got to come to grips with it.”
More than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996.
An estimated 6,000 children died in the schools, though experts …