Churches Being Burned to the Ground in Apparent Backlash After Gruesome Discovery

In the aftermath of the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at residential schools for indigenous children operated by the Catholic Church,  two more Canadian Catholic churches were torched on Saturday.

The two churches burned Saturday follow two more set on fire June 21, which is the day marked in Canada as National Indigenous People’s Day.

The two latest churches were on the British Columbia lands of the  Chuchuwayha Indian Reserve and the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, according to the Vancouver Sun. The previous two churches were also both in British Columbia.

St. Ann’s Catholic Church and Chopaka Catholic Church were both destroyed Saturday, officials said, with both listed as “suspicious,” according to BBC News.

“The investigations into the previous fires and these two new fires are ongoing with no arrests or charges,” said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt Jason Bayda, the BBC reported.

The fires come weeks after officials announced that the remains of 215 children were found at the nearby Kamloops Indian Residential School, which operated from 1890 to 1978.

Last week, officials announced that 751 unmarked graves were discovered in Saskatchewan on the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

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