215 Little Voices a poem by Mr. Gordon Coyle. “Canada, Oh Canada…What have you done?” Know more about the inspiring poem.

1. “215 Little Voices”
Whispering ‘We are here’
Buried without a ceremony, without a tear Now’s the time we
must make our choices We must choose to educate all
Canadians Middle school history must talk of this Every
Indigenous person, regardless of their generation Carries the
scars of this painful desecration Canada, My Canada, What
have you done? Collaborated with the Catholic Church to
commit this wrong
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I It's Time For
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2. This is not the time for us to look away This is the
time to stand tall and stay We must take a stand to
right this wrong Together we can stand together
and stand strong Education and
Recommendations, Call for Action These scars will
be carried forever However, we can heal if we just
work together
“Those were painful and highly emotional days when they were locating the
graves.” Mr. Coyle told me in an interview regarding his poem. This poet moved
me to tears as he described the little
wooden crosses the elders had hand-made and placed in the ditch all along
Highway 5 near Kamloops in honour of the little children being found in the
graves. Gordon and his brother Joe
Coyle went to school with some of those little kids from Gr. 1-7. If they release
the names of any of the children in the graves, they will be names the brothers
know.
Gordon Coyle

3. Gordon went on to tell me as he spent time there, he could feel something
different in the air and he believed in his heart all the “Little Voices” cried out
with their spirit energies to the elders, wanting to be found and finally recognized.
He also shared with me, as he wrote this poem that his soul felt the
unimaginable horror and tragedy, yet the image of reconciliation in the future
gave him some form of hope. He knew he had to do his part any way he could to
bring those little voices back to life and this poem was his way of amplification.
The line that still brings hot tears and pent-up emotion to Coyle is:
“Canada, Oh Canada...What have you done?”
This is truly the one of the first questions a person will ask when they have been
brought up learning the Indigenous ways and culture. For more than a century,
they were told to believe in the writings and agreements of Treaty 8. Gordon
Coyle’s Great- Grandmother was a woman of Cree descent from Treaty 8 which
is one of eleven Treaty areas in Canada and encompasses a landmass of
approx. 840,000 KM. It is home to 39 First Nations communities. Treaty 8 was
signed June 21st, 1899.

4. Treaty 8 has long been recognized as the Treaty of Peace. The true spirit of it
when signed was peace, law, respect, honesty and acceptance, all while sharing
the plentiful resources such as hunting, fishing, forestry, mining and agriculture
between Indigenous Peoples and newcomers. For the Indigenous Peoples this
Treaty was also intended to secure their right to cultural activities and burial
grounds.
It was curious to me that Mr. Coyle pinpointed the Catholic Church in “215 Little
Voices”. I asked him why? His response was swift! “Because we were raised in a
strict Catholic family and taught to respect each of the 10 Commandments
without question. It is beyond understanding and for now, even forgiveness,
having witnessed without doubt the proof of what was silently and secretly known
to be the actions of his church. After our lengthyand soul-moving conversation, it
is truly painful to take in all that has happened. Looking back, I recognize that
nothing of Treaty 8 held credence nor was respected by the newcomers who
insisted on having it signed.
Mr. Coyle and I went on to discuss what he thought of the now often-used
message for “Call to Action”. We both are of the opinion that it can only be
effective when ACTION takes place! He added, “Even small actions will propel us
into reconciliation and healing, but action needs to start NOW in any form, which
includes his heartfelt poem written for the “215 Little Voices”.

5. There is so much pain and healing yet to be done and Gordon was adamant and
firm in his tone when he stated he believed the trip to the Vatican, then having
the Pope stand on bloodied soil speaking a genuine apology might be the first of
many steps needed to move forward. However, he also added that storytelling is
the culture and way of Indigenous Peoples. Coyle stated that only through
storytelling and knowing the reality of the painful past, can the future begin to
right itself and allow peaceful, plentiful hope to wrap the tortured souls in belief
once again.
I say, “Let the Storytellers and Knowledge Keepers speak!”
Mr. Coyle learned to express his thoughts through wordsmithing. Some of his
experience and call to write has come from the loss of his own son. Gordon
realized as he entered the healing stage of that kind of loss, that his son didn’t
have the time in his beautiful life to write his memoirs. He was always busy
investing his energy helping others, bringing light and love wherever he was. His
smile was radiant and could change a dark day into sunshine. Mr. Gordon Coyle
felt the urge to pull from his son’s ability to spread joy and with his own talent put
life’s experienced to word. Gordon is a published author and photographer. He
has 5 books published and sought after on Amazon.

6. In closing Gordon said, “We all hold the ability to change the world, perhaps it
will be only in small ways, but it all adds up. In years to come it will be those
small ways that are the difference makers.”
The following are titles of Mr. Gordon Coyle’s books.
• “Open Road to my Soul”
• “Bits and Pieces”
• “Her Beautiful Soul”
O_L
I It's Time For
^/“Change