Canada mourns after remains of indigenous children found at boarding school

The discovery of the remains of 215 children at one of several boarding schools set up a century ago to forcibly assimilate Canada's indigenous peoples has once again compelled the nation to confront its painful past. Credit: Reuters Photo

The grim find at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in western British Columbia province offered a stark reminder of the widespread discrimination experienced by the country's indigenous people -- and the particular tragedy of the schools. Credit: AFP Photo

In 2015, a truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) report said Canada's assimilation policy pursued until the latter half of the 20th century -- including atrocities at the schools -- amounted to

The Tk'emlups te Secwepemc tribe said last week it had used ground-penetrating radar to confirm the remains of the 215 students who attended the Kamloops Indian Residential School -- far more than the 50 deaths officially on record. It was the largest of Canada's boarding schools for indigenous youth, with up to 500 students attending at any one time. Credit: AFP Photo

After decades under church administration, the government took it over, finally closing its doors in 1978. Credit: Reuters Photo

After the Kamloops revelation, more excavations of school burial sites are now being planned across Canada. Trudeau has promised

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others observed several minutes of silence and knelt before the heaps of children's shoes and toys left at the Centennial Flame in Ottawa, before speaking briefly with an indigenous passerby. Credit: AFP Photo

Tributes of shoes are left at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in memory of the 215 children's bodies found on the residential school site. Credit: AFP Photo