OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor, which can be submitted to [email protected]. This letter is in reference to the ongoing controversy about the return of the Champlain Monument to Couchiching Beach Park against the backdrop of the discovery of the bodies of 215 children who were buried in unmarked graves at a Residential School in B.C.
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I, like many others, have watched in abject horror at the unearthing of the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children in Kamloops and can no longer, in good conscience, idly ignore Canada’s genocidal past and present.
The colonial system that resulted in mass, unmarked graves of children is the same system that led to the violent and unnecessary deaths of Joyce Echaquan, Colten Bouchie, and Barbara Kentner, among others.
We are seeing a specific continuation of use of force by the state on Indigenous peoples in Canada and it is unacceptable.
While still mourning the 215 children killed by the Catholic Church and the Canadian state, I was further horrified to learn that my community intends to re-erect a monument to colonialism, the exact force that resulted in these deaths.
I was overwhelmed by my disappointment and, quite frankly, rage when I learned of Champlain’s return. At a time when dozens of communities around the globe are tearing down their monuments to white supremacy, we are putting ours back up.
Now is the time for our government to invest in the future we want rather than fighting to maintain a status quo that doesn't work for so many. Further to that, it is abhorrent to think that this community is prepared to celebrate a system that results in the mass graves of Indigenous children, by design.
The reality is that more grave sites like the one most recently found at the Kamloops Indian Residential School will be unearthed, but Canada’s genocide is not only in the past.
It has long been known that Indigenous people in Canada are over-represented in the foster-care system, the state’s penal system, in suicide statistics and those living in poverty.
At present, 33 Indigenous communities are currently under boil-water advisories. How can we as a country move the needle on these important issues if our leaders cannot take a stand against a statue?
Nothing changes if nothing changes, and I am ready to stand on the side of change.
We, as a community, cannot continue to portray ourselves as inclusive or progressive if we are unwilling to take a stand. I understand that this is a big ask, that the decision to leave Champlain where he is not a popular one, however I do believe it to be one that will help Canada reconcile with its past and allow us, as a community, to move forward with dignity.
We have to face the past with honesty and integrity to move forward.
I further understand that there is a working group that includes Parks Canada, Chippewas of Rama, the Huron Wendat and the City of Orillia who are trying to find a way forward. I implore you to acknowledge that the way forward should not include Champlain’s return to Orillia’s waterfront.
I am calling on you to stand against the community pressure to resurrect the Champlain monument, a monument to the colonial system that has resulted in communities digging up the graves of children so they may finally find their peace.
Miranda Minassian
Orillia
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