SFL statement on the discovery of unmarked graves at Cowessess First Nation
Released June 24, 2021
June 24, 2021
SFL statement on the discovery of unmarked graves at Cowessess First Nation
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour is joining Indigenous peoples across Saskatchewan and around the country in expressing our profound sadness, grief and anger at the discovery of 751 unmarked graves at Cowessess First Nation.
Though this news is shocking, we must continue to face head on the horrifying legacy of the residential school system in Canada. Indigenous peoples have long spoken about the number of children who were ripped away from their homes, their families, their traditions and their culture and never came home- lost to disease, neglect, punishment, malnutrition, or attempts to escape. It’s past time for people across the country to recognize that the residential school system was a genocide of a massive scale- a legacy of generations of colonialism, violence, and systemic racism that is an ongoing trauma for families and communities.
This must be a wake-up call for all of us. We must demand justice and reconciliation for Indigenous peoples. We need all levels of government to take Truth and Reconciliation seriously, and to implement all calls to action in the TRC report. We must also listen to Indigenous communities to work towards healing the damage that has been done.
The SFL joins Indigenous peoples in mourning, and offer our solidarity to those across the country who are once again having to relive the trauma, pain and loss caused by residential schools.
Please take the time to check in with your Indigenous coworkers, friends, family and neighbours.
We encourage anyone who is in need of support to contact the Indian Residential School Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066, or at the 24-hour crisis line at 1-866-925-4419. There is also a number for those in Saskatchewan to call, at 306-522-7494.
