Since the news broke about the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children at the Kamloops Residential School, I have been bombarded by texts and phone calls.

Friends, colleagues and political leaders have been asking, 91裸聊视频淗ow are you and your community doing? How can we support you?91裸聊视频�

How am I? I91裸聊视频檓 angry, indignant and perplexed as to why a country like ours, a modern-day free, liberal and democratic society, tolerates the ongoing atrocious treatment of Indigenous peoples. I91裸聊视频檓 also surprised that this news came as a shock.

How is my community doing? We are heavy with grief, anger, rage, resentment and indignation. We are trying to find a way to reconcile our existence as Syilx people within a country that continues to ignore us. We are trying to find a way to heal, but the tether of historic unaddressed atrocities continues to haunt us.

So let me ask, how are you? How did you feel when you heard the news, what went through your mind? Do you, like our prime minister, believe that the discovery of 215 dead Indigenous children is 91裸聊视频渁 painful reminder of that dark and shameful chapter of our country91裸聊视频檚 history?91裸聊视频� Or have you finally come to realize that this is the present situation of Indigenous peoples in Canada? Are you finally waking up to realize that our free and democratic country still has racist legislation, policies and political actors who continue to add pages to this 91裸聊视频渄ark chapter,91裸聊视频� unwilling to turn the page?

From what I can tell, Canadians are trying to find ways to move on from this dark chapter. I91裸聊视频檝e been told that 91裸聊视频渉ow to be an Indigenous ally91裸聊视频� is trending on the socials. But for how long? How long will this headline last? CBC91裸聊视频檚 The National did a segment on the 91裸聊视频榮tory91裸聊视频� and will likely do a few more. After all, they are our publicly funded broadcaster and have a civic duty to do so. But, how long will this story last? How long will it take for the media and Canadians to predictably move on to a new headline?

Residential schools are just one section of this chapter. Other sections we continue to write include the preventable deaths of Indigenous people in hospitals, child care and RCMP custody. Let91裸聊视频檚 not forget the sections on the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, deplorable incarceration rates, unlivable conditions on reserves, underfunded educational systems, and the ongoing and continued alienation of our traditional lands.

I could go on. But I think you get the point.

Most media outlets and Canadians give these egregious stories a few seconds of attention and move on. Meanwhile, my people continue to live with the daily reality of 91裸聊视频楥anada91裸聊视频檚 Apartheid91裸聊视频� (lapsuslima.com/canadas-apartheid/). Go read it. This is not history. It is our collective present-day reality.

We have known about the unreported graves. They have been documented in the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission91裸聊视频檚 Report and Calls to Action. Maybe it91裸聊视频檚 time you read it (trc.ca). My people, the Syilx/Okanagan People, have known about these things for years. They pervade and still haunt my community every day. I feel for the survivors. They heard about this the same way we all did 91裸聊视频� through a press release. That moment, on May 28, will forever be etched in the collective memory of this country. I hope that the survivors and their families find a way through this. I hope we, Canadians, find a way through this.

Or will we fall back into apathy and wait until the next news cycle and big headline to get another moment of public angst, hoping that one day things will change? I91裸聊视频檓 not an expert in social movements or mass societal change, but I91裸聊视频檓 pretty sure there is a better way.

So what can we do?

Let91裸聊视频檚 start with simply being human. Start with empathy. Take a moment to reflect on our present-day realities. Take a moment to remember the 215 children that never made it home. Allow yourself to feel what we feel 91裸聊视频� anger, indignation and a deep, uncommunicable, empty sadness. Then, when you are ready, let91裸聊视频檚 turn the page. It91裸聊视频檚 time to heal. It91裸聊视频檚 time to change Canada.

This is our moment. It91裸聊视频檚 time to write a new chapter, nay, a whole new volume entitled Truth and Reconciliation. This is our country; we as individual Canadians hold the collective pen, and have at our doorstep the opportunity to write a new narrative for future Canadians and Indigenous peoples.

We must also demand accountability and reparations. We must also face the uncomfortable truths that have enabled centuries of genocide.

In this new chapter, the humane treatment of Indigenous peoples is no longer a partisan issue. The mistreatment of Indigenous people is no longer an issue for debate. It is an issue we need to address. It91裸聊视频檚 time for governments, institutions, corporations and individuals to act on the 94 Calls to Action from the TRC.

I believe that we can and must do better. We must build a better Canada, one that makes room for Indigenous peoples to be Indigenous. We don91裸聊视频檛 want or need your permission to be Cree or Syilx. You just need to finally acknowledge that we are here, and we are not going to retreat into assimilation. We are going to take our rightful place in a diverse and rich Canada full of Indigenous languages, cultures, customs, traditions and ways of being. A Canada that simply and honourably accepts that long before contact, we were here. We will always be here.

Christopher Derickson is currently serving as y虚il虚mix史m for Westbank First Nation, one of the 17 communities affected by the discovery of 215 children buried in unmarked graves.

To view the WFN council91裸聊视频檚 official statement and available support service information, please visit wfn.ca/news/kamloopsresidentialschoolfindings.htm.