September 30 is National Truth and Reconciliation Day, a time to remember missing Indigenous children and survivors across Canada who were taken from their families and forcibly sent to residential schools.

These missing children are called Le Estcwicwéy̓ (which means “the missing” in the Tk’emlúpsemc language of British Columbia). It is important to name them as such as Indigenous communities continue to face the grim reality of having to search for bodies on the grounds of former residential schools.

A total of 150,000 children aged 4 to 16 from First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples attended 144 residential schools. Of these, at least 4,100 officially died there, not counting the children whose bodies are still being discovered.

Approximately 1,967 pits were discovered using radar technology, but only 11 residential school sites were excavated. According to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, more than 10,000 children are believed to have been buried in unknown locations on the grounds of Indian residential schools and hospitals across the country; Much remains to be done to find all of Le Estcwicwéy̓.

Join us in calling on the federal government to redouble its efforts by expanding ground-penetrating radar searches to all sites and adjacent grounds of former residential schools to find all burials. This is the only way to truly lift the veil on this genocide and honor the memory of the missing children.

We all have a role to play in supporting communities in their search for truth and justice. Together we must uncover the truth about Le Estcwicwéy̓, honor her memory and take concrete steps toward reconciliation.