(Port Alberni) A British Columbia First Nation announced on Tuesday that ground-penetrating radar detected 17 suspected burial sites around the property of the former Alberni Indian residential school.
According to Brian Whiting, head of the geophysical division of GeoScan, the land surveyor who carried out the analyses, 17 would be the minimum number of suspicious graves that would be found on 12 of the 100 hectares they have searched since last summer.
The Tseshaht First Nation says its interviews with survivors, historical records and other documents also show that 67 students died at the school.
The lead researcher who worked with historical records and survivor statements, Sheri Meding, says many of these children died of medical conditions.
The First Nation located on Vancouver Island unveiled Tuesday afternoon the results of a preliminary search conducted on an unmarked grave site on the grounds of a former Indian residential school in Port Alberni.
These results come after 18 months of planning and operation at the former Alberni residential school site.
Tseshaht Nation officials say children from at least 100 Indigenous communities attended the institution during the time it operated, from 1900 to 1973.
Tseshaht’s elected chief councilor, whose English name is Ken Watts, explained before the announcement that it is essential to embark on what he calls “this journey towards the truth”, even if the process is difficult for the survivors.