Canada, torn down statues of Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II, symbols of past horrors

In Canada, two statues, one of Queen Victoria and one of Queen Elizabeth II, were torn down in the city of Winnipeg (Manitoba) as a sign of protest against one of the news stories that, in recent days, has most shocked public opinion in the country, namely the discovery of two mass graves with the remains of hundreds of Native children, both near two schools for Native children, the Kamloops Indian Residential School (in the state of British Columbia), which was operated until 1969, and the Marieval Indian Residential School (in the state of Saskatchewan), which was operational from 1899 to 1997. Both schools were run by Catholic Church organs. It is currently unknown whether the grave and the remains have anything to do with the school.

The discovery of the remains has brought worldwide attention to the notorious school system in place in Canada for mlong time, when native children were taken from their families and sent inside schools set aside for them, where abuse and even deaths were very common. An estimated 150,000 children, mainly from the Métis and Inuit peoples, were taken from their families and sent to these schools over the course of about a century (from the late 1870s to the 1990s), and for parents who refused to let their children go, jail time was provided. Seventy percent of the “residential schools” (that is the name of the schools) were run by the Catholic Church of Canada, according to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, a body that does historical research on the subject. According to the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the commission investigating this system, the government’s policy toward native children could be considered cultural genocide.

Thus, last July 1, as Canada celebrated the anniversary of the nation’s birth, some protesters tore down the statues, tearing them down-they are in fact seen as a symbol of the colonial forces that allowed the abuse of Native people. The protesters wore orange shirts, similar to those worn by those sentenced to death, signifying that often, for a Native child, being sent to one of these schools was, indeed, tantamount to a sentence. Protesters also covered the bases of the statues with red paint.

Meanwhile, Canadam Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a note that “the horrific findings of the remains of hundreds of children at the sites of former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan rightly force us to reflect on our country’s historical failures, and the injustices that still exist for Native people and many others in Canada. As Canadians, we must be honest with ourselves about our past.”

Canada, torn down statues of Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II, symbols of past horrors

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