Letter to the editor : Neglected graves : Apples and oranges ?

Notes: "Roger Emsley of Delta, B.C. is comparing apples and oranges in his letter ('Unmarked graves not unusual', Letters, February 2022). There's no denying that centuries-old cemeteries all over Europe have scores of graves that have no indication of who may be buried there because the stone or wooden marker has long since crumbled away. They are not unmarked for the same reason that the residential school graves are unmarked". "[I]n too many cases, the families of the children were not notified, those families had no opportunity to bring their children home for burial. To this day, the families have not had access to the records of those burials so descendants cannot check when their ancestors died. The graves were marked with wooden markers and once those markers disintegrated they were not replaced. Even in death, the residential school children were treated poorly". "The sooner Canadians of European descent recognize and repent our part in the subjugation and denigration of Canada's Indigenous peoples, the sooner we can achieve the goal of reconciliation. To paraphrase the immortal Pogo, 'We have seen the oppressor, and he is us'".

Subjects: Cemeteries - Canada; Cemeteries - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada; Graves - Canada; Indigenous peoples - Canada - Residential schools; Indigenous peoples - Canada - Residential schools - Anglican Church of Canada; Indigenous children - Abuse of - Canada