Canada Day - A Message from Chief Bull

Good Morning,

I want to start off by acknowledging and thanking the creator for this beautiful day.

The recent discoveries made around Canada near former residential schools has brought a heavy heart to us all.  The 215 children buried in Kamloops, 100 children found buried in Manitoba, 751 unmarked graves found in Saskatchewan and now the 182 unmarked graves located on Ktunaza Nation territory in BC. This is a sad reality of our history as Indigenous people, and the truth about the horrific treatment that went on to our children in residential schools across Canada is coming to light in an undeniable way.

For many people, today is a day of celebration of our country, and I would like to say to whoever is celebrating today to enjoy your day. It is important that we all stay mindful of the history of how indigenous peoples have been and continue to be treated in Canada.

Lac Seul First Nation chooses not to celebrate today because of the recent horrific findings of children and unmarked mass graves. We want to stand with our brothers and sisters around Canada and wish to support our First Nation members who choose not to acknowledge Canada Day. We invite you to wear an orange T-shirt on Canada Day if you have one, to honour and acknowledge these lost children within our country.

We are hopeful that a true reconciliation will happen out of these tragedies.