Two young children sit next to shoes left in front of a statue of Egerton Ryerson, who was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Indian Residential School System.
The recent discovery of 215 children’s graves in Kamloops, B.C., has prompted acting dean of law Beverly Jacobs to call for those involved to be tried at the International Criminal Court.
She published an opinion piece on the issue in the Conversation, which shares news and views from the academic and research community.
“Uncovering of the remains of children must be investigated as a crime against humanity,” writes Dr. Jacobs. “All entities involved in residential schools — including different levels and branches of the Canadian government and various denominations of churches — must be charged with genocide and tried at the International Criminal Court.”
Jacobs calls for the use of ground-penetrating radar that was used at Kamloops Indian Residential School to be used at all other former residential school sites.
“What happened to Indigenous children is genocide, and the legacy of that continues through denial and inaction,” she adds.
Her article was listed among the Academica Group’s top 10 news stories. Read the full story in the Conversation.