Yeah, I agree with Transplant. It seems the bodies were from quite a long duration of time (79 years). Not that it absolves anyone, but I agree with him that I hope that there were other factors such as the flu for some of those bodies. Not that it changes anything or perhaps means much, but perhaps here's hoping that some of those 215 bodies were not due to abuse and that perhaps they passed without as much sorrow. Not that it takes away from any of the suffering, but just a hope that there was a bit more peace surrounding the circumstances of their passing.
I get where some of you are coming from too about how we understand these groups. I find it's not easy to learn and understand about first nations/indigenous/Metis. Somehow we don't really know. and there are many who basically know nothing or were taught relatively meaningless things about these groups that help nothing in terms of understanding what path they as a group have walked together to get to this point. I've tried learning a bit here and there but I would easily feel my understanding of their culture is woefully poor (in comparison to how I would understand another culture). I also somehow feel it's not easy to learn about this and each band is relatively unique to other bands.
I do want to learn and improve my understanding though, so if there's resources out there that are more helpful than others, I'd be grateful to hear about them. (ie: vet the quality of certain online resources) It would be nice to also know how to start for more relevant stuff (ie: local bands, regional bands then overall in Canada). It might be easier to approach it that way rather than immediate data overload.
Honestly speaking, it usually seems like the best resources out there are often someone who interacts with those cultures directly. I will usually chat up someone and try and learn more, but it's not easy. The internet isn't always the best resource (ie: each band isn't always the same).