Skip to content

We Stand Together: Alayh McIvor

Warning: This post contains details some readers may find distressing.

On May 27, the First Nations community was shaken when the remains of 215 First Nations children were found in unmarked graves on what was once a Catholic-run Residential School in Kamloops, B.C. Some of the children were as young as three years old. On June 24, 2021, the discovery of 751 unmarked graves was announced near a former Saskatchewan residential school.

These are the voices of our First Nations pained by the loss, frustrated by systemic racism and oppression, and the stories of survivors.


On Sunday, May 30, Manitoba’s First Nations held a four-day ceremony in front of Manitoba’s Legislative building, honouring the lives of the 215 children who were found and honouring survivors for their resiliency and stories. Alayh says we need to listen to the experiences of Residential School survivors, and accountability needs to take place. 

“The survivors here, their stories have been dismissed, and if they [the government] want to do action, they will stop in their tracks of the syndromes they are causing, the syndromes they created, such as the 60’s Scoop, Child and Family Services taking away children from them [Indigenous people] to disenfranchise them, to disempower them, and holding power over Indigenous people by taking their children away in

different formalities. [Meaningful action] is honouring them [Indigenous people], compensating them properly, reinstating claims. That’s just the tip of that piece to move forward. Coming, hearing, and listening at a grassroots level is one of the most important things to do.”

Hear from other voices of Manitoba: https://u-channel.ca/we-stand-together-voices-of-manitoba/


Indian Residential School Survivors Society

A helpline for residential school survivors can be reached at 1-866-925-4419.

The Indian Residential School Survivors Society is a British Columbia-based organization providing services to residential school survivors for over 20 years. It started by helping residential school survivors navigate the court systems and has since expanded to help residential school survivors and engage in community education for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. You can donate here.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of U Multicultural.

Winnipeg’s Ongoing Struggle for Social Justice and Indigenous Recognition: A Conversation with Senator Marilou McPhedran

https://youtu.be/2lBc0SvPqjo Winnipeg, the capital city of Manitoba, has a rich and complex history that is deeply intertwined with the Indigenous communities that have inhabited the region for millennia. As a city that grapples with issues of poverty, disadvantage and the lingering effects of colonialism, it is essential to acknowledge itsContinue Reading

Read More »

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Saturday, September 30th, will mark the third National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. First recognized across the country in 2021 with orange t-shirts, flags, and other clothing items, many of which read “Every Child Matters,” as an acknowledgement of the genocide which took place in these government-funded residential schools, half ofContinue Reading

Read More »

Share this post with your friends

Subscribe to Our Newsletter