Tk’emlúps plans memorial to commemorate one-year since Le Estcwicwéỳ confirmation

TK’EMLUPS — Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc will be hosting a memorial event to commemorate one year since the band announced the confirmation of suspected unmarked graves around the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

On May 27 of 2021, Tk’emlúps announced that a ground-penetrating radar team had confirmed around 215 ‘targets of interest’ around the grounds of the former institution. These potential burial sites are believed to belong to children who may have attended the school, but never returned home.

One year since the announcement, the band will host a cultural memorial event for the public to attend, and honour Le Estcwicwéỳ – which means, ‘the missing’.

The memorial will feature a sunrise ceremony, hand drumming, dancing, and Governor-General Mary Simon is also expected to be in attendance.

Le Estcwicwéỳ Memorial will be held from the Tk’emlúps Powwow Arbour on May 23, from 5 a.m to 7 p.m.

Image Credit: Tk’emlups te Secwepemc