Two hundred and fifteen unmarked graves were discovered last week behind what was once a residential school where government and church conspired to educate the culture out of the indigenous children and youth of our nation as was done in residential schools all across Canada. In total there were about 130 such schools at which approximately 150,000 indigenous, Inuit and Metis children between the ages of 4 and 16 were schooled beginning in the late 19th century, with the last school closing in 1996.
The remains of the 215 discovered children cry out begging us to name their names and give ear to their stories, but we can’t for the graves are unmarked. And what of the parents and families from whom they were taken? Many no doubt went to their graves grieving and wondering what ever happened to their children.
By not marking the graves it would seem those who buried them placed no value on the children and the youth and were not going to miss them or grieve their parting. Many of us visit family graves to silently remember those who have gone on before, but no one can find let alone visit an unmarked grave.
The unmarked graves shame those who were there and a nation that kept silent. It is now known that at least four thousand children died in Canadian residential schools, a much higher mortality rate than in the general public. However it is believed there were thousands more and most lie in unmarked graves. They died of disease and malnutrition and abuse to name but a few causes. And when they died it was deemed too costly to send them home, so they were buried one by one and no one stopped to mark their graves.
The church was part of this. Oh we can point out that the Baptist church would not get involved with the state and so stayed out of the residential schools, but nonetheless we were silent. And so it was all done in the name of the One who gave his life that each one of those children might have life abundant and eternal and we did what? They may not have been treasured in the sight of Canada, but in God’s eyes they were.
The day prior to the announcement of the discovery, one of the lectionary readings was from Ezekiel 37 where the prophet had a vision of a valley full of dry bones and the Lord asked him, “Mortal, can these bones live?” And the prophet looked at the absolutely hopeless sight and replied, “O Lord, you know.”
Indeed as we survey the bones of these unmarked graves we want their names and stories to be held up and we wish they could come to life and be reunited with those who gave them life. But we have made too much of a mess. And we have lost the right to preach to the dry bones, but not the responsibility to pray and the call to work for truth and reconciliation.
Prayer
O God, we feel ashamed that generations of indigenous youth in our country were not given the dignity that your cross demands for all people. We feel horror that these little ones were turned away into unmarked places when they were so precious to you. And oh how your name was taken in vain as if it was your agenda to remove the identity of these precious children, destroy families and discard their bodies. Forgive our nation and heal our land. For you O God know all of these children by name and already you have raised them up and taken them home. Where the opening of these graves has reopened old wounds we pray for healing and hope, empathy, kindness, mercy and love. Heal our land and reconcile our peoples by your Spirit and grace, Amen.
