Government staff hoped to take Parliament Hill residential school memorial down in August
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
The federal government had originally hoped to remove a Parliament Hill memorial to Indigenous children who died and disappeared from residential schools months earlier than actually happened last year, according to newly released documents.
Hundreds of tiny shoes, stuffed animals and flowers began appearing around the Centennial Flame last spring, after the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc Nation announced in May around 200 potential burial sites had been found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The Parliament Hill memorial was one of many that popped up across the country as Canadians were confronted with the horrors Indigenous children faced when removed from their families and forced to attend these institutions over more than a century.
It became a place where Indigenous elders and tourists alike would stand in silence.
According to the documents, officials with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada initially wanted to hold a ceremony to remove the display last summer before the widely anticipated election campaign, which ended up being called Aug. 15.
They also recommended departments create a plan for dealing with similar memorials in the future.
WATCH | The memorial starts to form around the end of May:
Many Ottawa residents — including some residential school survivors — attended a memorial on Parliament Hill Monday to commemorate the 215 children found in unmarked burial sites at Kamloops Indian Residential School. 1:48
“The removal is being recommended, first and foremost, in order to ensure the preservation of these items,” reads a memorandum prepared for the department’s deputy minister and released to The Canadian Press through federal access to information legislation.
“Moreover, a memorial cannot remain in its current location given the need for regular maintenance of the Centennial Flame for health and safety issues.”
The document outlines officials were consulting with the Algonquin-Anishinabeg Nation, whose unceded territory includes Ottawa, and national Indigenous organizations on how to proceed.
All agreed the memorial had to be removed respectfully.
The preferred option among the three presented was to hold a ceremony the week before Aug. 15. As the officials predicted, that ended up being the day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament, triggering the Sept. 21 election.
“The event would need to take place the week of Aug. 8 in order to include ministerial participation and sign-off, as it is expected that the Government of Canada will enter the writ period the week of Aug. 15,” the document reads.
Officials said that they envisioned the Algonquin-Anishinabeg Nation leading the ceremony “in collaboration with the Government of Canada,” and that consultation would be needed to determine what role department leaders could play.
The document says officials were having trouble reaching the group to finish the planning.
“While it would be possible to go ahead with removal given it is in the best interest of Canadians and could arguably be understood to be regular business of government, it would also be necessary to secure whatever decisions can be made by the ministers ahead of the writ period.”
Removed Oct. 22
Ultimately, the memorial remained for two more months until the end of October, when, under the direction of Algonquin elders, it was quietly taken down by about 20 people, including department officials, without any official notice.
The acting grand chief of the nation’s tribal council told The Canadian Press at the time that items were blessed before they were removed and many of them had been soaked by rainfall. The plan was for items considered sacred to be burned in a ceremonial fire.
In a memorandum prepared for the deputy minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs after the removal, officials said “many of the items were in an advanced state of degradation.”
A spokesman for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada said items from the memorial remain in storage.
“Sacred items were removed and carefully stored at 115 Sparks (St.) where (Public Services and Procurement Canada) has been monitoring the air quality and moisture level to ensure proper conservation until they can be delivered.”
Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by the latest reports.
A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
