STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE
_____
JOINT RESOLUTION IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE 215
INDIGENOUS CHILDREN WHOSE REMAINS WERE FOUND ON
THE GROUNDS OF THE KAMLOOPS INDIAN RESIDENTIAL
SCHOOL IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
WHEREAS, Indian residential schools were established in the United States and Canada
in the 19th and 20th centuries to "civilize" Native American children and assimilate them into
European culture; and
WHEREAS, Native American children were removed from the custody of their parents,
given new European names, forbidden to speak their Indigenous languages and forced to
abandon their Native American identity and culture; and
WHEREAS, formal government investigations have revealed documented cases of
starvation and physical and mental abuse in these residential schools; and
WHEREAS, the last of these residential schools closed only as recently as 2007; and
WHEREAS, according to Canada's National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, at
least 4,100 Canadian First Nations children died while attending residential schools in Canada;
and
WHEREAS, due to poor and inaccurate record keeping, it is unknown how many Native
American boys and girls died while attending residential schools in the United States; and
WHEREAS, on May 28, 2021, the remains of 215 children were found buried in a mass
grave on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School located in British
Columbia; and
WHEREAS, the Canadian government recognized this moment by putting the Canadian
flag at half-staff until further notice in memory of the thousands of children who were sent to
residential schools, for those who never returned and in honor of the families whose lives were
forever changed; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Legislature now
assembled in the First Special Session, on behalf of the people we represent, take this
opportunity to honor and remember the 215 indigenous children found on the grounds of the
Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.
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