File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

Le Estcwicwéy̓ (the Missing)

Three years later, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc reflects on Le Estcwicwéy̓ announcement, updates investigation progress

May 27, 2024 | 6:30 PM

TK’EMLUPS — Monday (May 27) marks three years since Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc’s announcement around preliminary ground-penetrating radar findings at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS).

That spring, the band shared that research teams had confirmed ground-penetrating radar technology had narrowed down the location of probable unmarked burial sites on the grounds of the institution.

This week, the band provided an update into its ongoing investigation into the missing children, now referred to as Le Estcwicwéy̓ (which translates to ‘The Missing’ in Secwepemctsín), while also encouraging allies to refute claims made by residential school denialists.

Since the initial data collected from ground-penetrating radar searches in May of 2021, Tk’emlúps has formed the Le Estcwicwéy̓ Department. Staff members of this department are working on the investigation and preparing to eventually build a healing centre for survivors and intergenerational survivors.

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The band has jurisdiction over the investigation and Tk’emlúps Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir states it is being conducted in line with Secwépemc laws, legal traditions, worldviews, values and protocols.

“We are taking steps to ensure the investigation is carried out in a way that does not preclude and will not interfere with potential future legal proceedings,” she continues in a statement issued on Monday on behalf of her office and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc council.

At this stage, Casimir says the investigative findings are being treated as confidential to maintain the integrity of the investigation, but did say that the investigators’ findings to date are consistent with the presence of unmarked burials.

Thus far, Tk’emlúps says investigative work includes archival and documentary search and analysis, Wenecwtsínem (truth telling) with KIRS Survivors, archaeological and anthropological studies, along with potential DNA and other forensic methods.

Casimir adds Tk’emlúps does plan to update the community when the next milestone is reached.

Tk’emlúps and other First Nations who have come forward with preliminary findings have been subject to repeated backlash stemming from residential school denialism and other misinformation. Acknowledging this, Kúkpi7 Casimir encourages allies to utilize educational tools to uphold the truth surrounding Canada’s Residential School System.

Her statement also reiterates the band is working with other communities on the investigation, as more than 128 communities and 32 different Nations had children attend Kamloops Indian Residential School.

The full statement can be read on Tk’emlups’ Facebook page.