Over the course of the summer of 2021, over 1300 unmarked graves of Indigenous children were found at residential school sites across Canada (and many more have been found since then). The United Church of Canada is responding to this with an initiative called "Bringing the Children Home". General Council has earmarked an initial three million dollars to support Indigenous communities in the work of identifying unmarked graves. Indigenous communities will also be provided with all United Church archival records related to residential institutions.
In July 2021, Moderator Richard Bott stated, "The United Church of Canada is committed to reconciliation and to transparency in our efforts to support Indigenous leadership, communities, survivors, and families in bringing these children the honour we denied them in life."
In this time of immense pain for our First Nations sisters and brothers following the discovery of the remains of hundreds of children at residential schools, you might consider making a donation to the Healing Fund. The Healing Fund of the United Church of Canada supports healing initiatives for survivors of the residential school system and its ongoing intergenerational impacts.