(Wauzhushk Onigum) An Anishinaabe community in northwestern Ontario says it has discovered 22 sites where human remains could be buried near a former federal Indigenous residential school.
The Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation, near Kenora, was “alertized” in mid-August to suspicious sites near the former St. Mary’s residential school, after using a sniffer dog to conduct ground searches in and around the land of the former federal establishment.
The Wauzhushk Onigum community announced earlier this year that it had discovered 171 ” anomalies ” at the site, most of them possible unmarked burial sites.
In a statement, the community now says 19 of the 22 new sites identified by the dogs overlap with other sites already identified by residential school survivors as potential burial sites when the residential school was open.
The community hopes to release a full report of its research early next year, including that carried out using dogs and ground-penetrating radar, as well as survivor testimonies and archaeological assessments.
More than 6,000 children attended St. Mary’s residential school during its 75 years of operation. The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation documented that 36 of these children died while attending the residential school. The establishment, affiliated with the Catholic Church, was managed by the Oblates and the Gray Nuns.
The Wauzhushk Onigum community was guided in its research by a council of elders and survivors, in particular to progress while respecting the ancestral customs of the nation.
Chief Chris Skead praised the council and other survivors for their resilience. “It is your testimony, your strength, your advice that will continue to move us forward,” he said in a statement on Monday.
It is estimated that over a period of a century, 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend these federal residential schools in Canada. The Catholic Church managed approximately 60% of these establishments.
Children taken from their families to attend these residential schools were punished if they spoke their language and practiced their culture. Many were victims of psychological, physical and sexual violence.
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The “Health Support Program: Indian Residential School Resolution” provides a telephone crisis line for former residential school students and their loved ones who may be suffering from trauma caused by memories of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.