Investigation of potential burial sites top priority for Williams Lake First Nation as prime minister visits
CBC
WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Indigenous-Crown Relations Marc Miller are visiting the Williams Lake First Nation on Wednesday to discuss the nation's recent findings at the site of a former residential school and to listen to survivors.
Led by Chief Willie Sellars, Trudeau and Miller arrived at the nation's administration building for an official welcome ceremony just after 10:30 a.m. PT.
"It is an honour and a privilege for me to be welcomed by dummers, dancers, elders and Chief Willie Sellars and council. Minister Miller and I are deeply touched by this extraordinary welcome to your territory," Trudeau said, addressing the room.
"I am moved to be here. I am here both to indicate that all of Canada grieves with this community at ... the feelings of loss that have come since the discovery of the reflections, but also the deep loss this community has felt over generations because of the legacy of residential schools," he added.
"I am mostly here to listen, to learn, to hear from elders and community members [on] what the path forward looks like —not just for this community, but for this country."
In January, the Williams Lake First Nation announced that 93 sites of "potential human burials" were identified near the former St. Joseph's Mission residential school. Only 14 out of 470 hectares of land had been searched at that time.
"We're thankful that the prime minister is making the time to visit Williams Lake First Nation," Chief Willie Sellars said in a statement ahead of the visit.
"This trip has been a long time in the making, and we have much to discuss about the St. Joseph's Mission investigation, the Government of Canada's role in residential school investigations, and Canada's commitment to the goals of reconciliation."
Miller said he's been visiting other First Nations communities that have undertaken searches of former residential school grounds to hear from survivors.
"Certainly we're going to find out about a lot more discoveries, and I don't think Canada is emotionally ready for the next wave of discoveries that will inevitably be found," he told CBC's The Early Edition earlier Wednesday.
"It's truth for Indigenous people … but also for the rest of the country that is perhaps not as aware as it should be about the reality of Canada."
Although members were invited to participate in the prime minister's visit today, the Tŝilhqot'in Nation said it would not send representatives.
Tl'etinqox Chief Joe Alphonse said he's repeatedly asked for a more inclusive and respectful approach to the site investigation.
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