First Nation Child Graves
The Sisters of St. Ann, the religious congregation that taught at the Kamloops Indian Residential School where the remains of 215 children were discovered in an unmarked grave last month, has signed an agreement to share its archival records with the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia.The memorandum of understanding was announced June 23 and was hailed by Daniel Muzyka, acting CEO of the Royal British Columbia Museum, as “a positive step” in the process of “truth-finding and reconciliation.”
Sr. Marie Zarowny, president and board chair of the Sisters of St. Ann, said the congregation was committed to finding the truth and would assist the process in whatever way it could.
“From the time we first heard of abuse in the schools it was of utmost importance to us to learn the truth and to do whatever we could to contribute to making the truth known, to bring about a just resolution and to participate in activities that could lead to healing and reconciliation,” Zarowny said in a statement to stakeholders. She also said there had been misinformation in recent weeks about her congregation’s archives and its cooperation with government inquiries.