The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre expresses its deepest sympathies and heartfelt sorrows for the victims, both direct and indirect, of the mass shooting that took place in a supermarket in Buffalo, NY, on May 14.
“This was a senseless, hateful, racism-fuelled crime,” says the Centre’s Academic Director Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. “And sadly, it is not an isolated incident. The racially-fuelled hatred and violence that Black, Indigenous and people of colour face daily is all-too pervasive in our societies, on both sides of the Canada-US border. We need to recognize and oppose hate, including hate-inspired words and actions, and take time to support much-needed changes to prevent all forms of racism and hatred from happening here in Canada or anywhere in the world.”
The Centre grieves for the ten people who lost their lives and sends its condolences to the families of the victims, those injured at the scene, and the bystanders for whom this tragic event will reverberate for years to come.
We also mourn collectively, and stand in solidarity, with our black friends and colleagues who have endured violent, racist acts and who will have been deeply, irreparably impacted by the weekend’s events.
If you or someone you know are triggered by this event, please reach out. Counselling and other supports are available:
Black Lives Matter Vancouver has compiled a list of legal, wellness and community resources in Vancouver.
Healing in Colour maintains a directory of POC therapists.
For UBC students: Here2Talk offers free, single-session, 24-hour counselling by phone or chat from anywhere in the world. Visit here2talk.ca to chat, or call the 24-hour helpline at 1 (877) 857-3397.
For UBC Indigenous students: UBC Counselling Services offers virtual appointments with an Indigenous counsellor. To schedule an appointment, call, (604) 822-3811.
For residential school Survivors: The Indian Residential School Survivors Society provides grief & loss counselling, crisis counselling, trauma counselling, and other supports including traditional healing methods and medicines. To access the 24-hour IRSSS Crisis Line call 1 (866) 925-4419, or visit irsss.ca for more information.
For Indigenous peoples: Hope for Wellness helpline offers immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention to all Indigenous people across Canada. Phone and chat counselling is available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut on request. Visit hopeforwellness.ca to chat with someone, or, call the 24-hour helpline at 1 (855) 242-3310.
Anti-racism resources
Anti-racism resources for white people.
Anti-racist resources. Hogan’s Alley Society.
Diangelo, R. (2018) White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Beacon Press.
Kendi, I. X. (2016). Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. New York: Nation Books.
Kendi, I. X. (February 2019). The Anti-Racist Reading List. The Atlantic.
Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York: NYU Press.