The Kamloops Indian Residential School site.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The Okanagan Nation Alliance is hosting a caravan for Sylix communities next week, honouring residential school survivors and those that died while attending the school.

The For the Children caravan is calling all Sylix survivors, families and drummers to caravan to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School site, June 26, to honour the 215 children that never made it home.

READ MORE: Identifying children's remains at Kamloops residential school stalled by lack of records

Last month, the discovery of the remains of 215 children was announced by the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation, which used ground-penetrating radar to locate the remains near the school.

“With everything that’s gone on, it’s really brought up a lot of things for our members and their families,” said Tara Montgomery, communications lead with the ONA. “It’s not just one time you have to go and do these types of prayers and this type of work… it’s not a surprise to any residential school survivors that these remains were uncovered.”

“It’s going to be a long process and the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc has been really great at providing and keeping the space open for the other nations whose members may be there so we can do ceremony or whatever it is that’s appropriate for our people.”

READ MORE: Hundreds of truckers greeted by spectators at Kamloops rally

Tribal chair Clarence Louie spearheaded the idea for the caravan as he wanted the nation to come together at this time, she said.

The caravan will start at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton at 9 a.m. and will make its way to the Westbank First Nation office, Vernon Okanagan College campus, and the pullout between Monte Lake and Monte Creek before arriving at the Kamloops Indian Residential School at 12:30 p.m. A ceremony will take place at 1 p.m.

Montgomery said the ONA has also been receiving requests to buy a Syilx flag to fly on Canada Day in lieu of flying the Canada flag.

This month, the Spirit of Syilx Unity Run was also held by the ONA. The annual event sees Syilx youth and members running out on the land in their own pods, aiming to reach the Kamloops Indian Residential school to raise awareness about the disproportionate rates of violence and suicide in Indigenous communities.

READ MORE: Annual Spirit of Syilx Unity Run run honours residential school survivors

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