Tribute left in Stoney Creek after burial site found at former B.C. residential school

A tribute has been left at the “Eagles Among Us” monument at the Battlefield House in Stoney Creek.

Dozens have shoes have been left in remembrance of the 215 children found in a mass grave at the site of a former residential school in British Columbia.

Organizers say they are hoping to get 215 pairs. The shoes will eventually be donated to local indigenous agencies.

A moving tribute has been left at The Eagles Among Us statue in Stoney Creek, dozens of shoes left in remembrance of the 215 children found in a mass grave at the site of a former residential school in BC. @morninglive @CHCHNews pic.twitter.com/AWMgCX8OHi

— Matt Ingram (@MattIngramNEWS) May 31, 2021

A vigil will be held here at 6 p.m. on Monday.

The statue was commissioned as part of the city’s War of 1812 Bicentennial commemoration.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia said the remains were confirmed earlier this month with the help of ground-penetrating radar.

She described the discovery as “an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never  documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.”

Plans are underway to bring in forensics experts to identify and repatriate the remains of the children found buried on the site.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked that flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast.