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Candlelight vigil in Surrey honours 215 Indigenous children

Event organized by BASMODI Team
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A crowd gathered for a second time at Surrey City Hall on Friday (June 4) in memory of the 215 Indigenous children who lost their lives at a former residential school in Kamloops. This event was organized by the BASMODI Team, which has been organizing events in support of the Indian farmers’ protests. (Photos: Annie Ohana/Twitter)

Editor’s note: This article contains details about experiences at residential schools in B.C. and may be triggering to readers.

The Indian Residential School Survivors Society is offering toll-free 24-hour telephone support for survivors and their families at 1 (866) 925-4419. The KUU-US Crisis Line Society’s 24-hour line is available at 1-800-588-8717.

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A crowd gathered for a second time at Surrey City Hall on Friday (June 4) in memory of the 215 Indigenous children who lost their lives at a former residential school in Kamloops.

The BASMODI Team, which has been organizing events in support of the Indian farmers’ protests, organized the candlelight vigil Friday night after the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation confirmed there were remains of at least 215 Indigenous children at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops.

“We stand in solidarity with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nations and all other Indigenous communities,” reads a poster for the event.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said the remains of the children, some believed to be as young as three, were confirmed with the help of ground-penetrating radar.

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was Canada’s largest such facility operated by the Roman Catholic Church between 1890 and 1969 before the federal government took it over as a day school until 1978, when it was closed.

The candlelight vigil followed an event earlier in the day, hosted by Surrey Urban Indigenous Leadership Committee’s Skookum Lab, that saw hundreds turn out to Civic Plaza, in a sea of orange.

READ ALSO: Hundreds turn out in Surrey in honour of 215 Indigenous children, June 4, 2021

Meantime, there is an international mourning gathering at Peace Arch Park Saturday (June 5) at noon.

– With files from The Canadian Press



lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com

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Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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