Little Mountain Neighbourhood House Society acknowledges the agency and resiliency of Indigenous Peoples in the face of centuries of colonial practices that have devastated their lives and left harmful impacts that are still felt today. The recent discovery of the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School located in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc confirms what Indigenous Peoples have known for years regarding the role and legacy of Residential Schools in Canada. We grieve together with the Indigenous Peoples for all the children who were taken from their families never to return.

Our organization stands in solidarity with Indigenous communities and we join our voices to compel the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments to follow through in implementing the Calls to Action identified in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report. Furthermore, we implore the state and churches to be accountable for their role at residential schools and the traumatic, detrimental actions committed against Indigenous Peoples, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called a cultural genocide.

Little Mountain Neighbourhood House Society acknowledges that we are privileged to live, work and play on unceded Indigenous land belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səlí̓ lwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Since its founding in 1978, Little Mountain Neighbourhood House Society has valued and promoted justice, respect, diversity and inclusion. Recognizing our position within a settler/colonial society, we pledge to further educate our staff, board, volunteers and our members on the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ self-governance, knowledge, cultures, diversity and history.

“Let us find a way to belong to this time and place together. Our future, and the well-being of all our children, rests with the kind of relationships we build today” – Chief Joseph