News Release
May 27, 2024

UBCIC Stands with Survivors and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc 3 Years After Announcement of 215 Unmarked Graves

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – May 27, 2024) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) observes the third anniversary of the tragic announcement that 215 suspected unmarked graves of children were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Today, UBCIC calls for governments and the public to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and validate the truths therein.

Our hearts go out to survivors, intergenerational survivors and their families across the country. The watershed announcement made by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc leadership three years ago paved the way for First Nations to carry out rigorous investigations at former Residential Schools elsewhere, relentlessly detailing numerous likely and potential unmarked grave locations.

Amidst a deeply troubling rise in Residential School denialism, including by publicly elected officials, UBCIC categorically rejects hateful denialism and ardent dissemination of misinformation that seeks to question and diminish the existence of Residential Schools and their well-documented harms against Indigenous people. We stand firmly with survivors and those who have undergone the courageous task of sharing their stories and uphold the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and experts in First Nations-led investigations.

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Media inquiries:

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President, 250-490-5314
Chief Don Tom, Vice-President, 604-290-6083
Chief Marilyn Slett, Secretary-Treasurer, 250-957-7721

UBCIC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

For more information, please visit www.ubcic.bc.ca

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