(George Gordon First Nation) A Saskatchewan First Nation says 14 possible unmarked graves have been discovered at the site of a former residential school north of Regina.
Posted at 8:23 p.m.
Chief Byron Bitternose of the George Gordon Nation says the findings follow months of work with ground-penetrating radar.
“Over the next few months, this area will be prioritized in the pursuit of our research,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“I’m hopeful that one day we can tell the whole story to our children,” added Chief Bitternose.
The George Gordon Indian Residential School was first established by the Anglican Church of Canada in 1888 and operated until 1996, making it one of the longest operating residential schools in the country. .
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation has documented 49 child deaths there.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report called George Gordon School one of the worst in the entire residential school system.
According to Sarah Longman, director of the boarding school’s cemetery committee, the search was hard on the community and especially those who attended the school.
She said the radar could not determine whether the bodies are those of adults or children, but there would be a high probability that they were children.
Mme Longman expects the follow-up research to stretch over a decade.
“We find ourselves in front of more than 100 years of history of this boarding school here in George Gordon, she underlines. So there is a lot of work to do and ground to explore. »
“I don’t know if we will ever get to the point of being able to identify (the remains), she continued. First, we don’t have the technology to do it. We don’t have the records to refer to. There are still several missing pieces. »
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools in Canada. Several First Nations have announced in the past year that they have discovered unmarked graves on former residential school sites.
The “Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program” provides an emergency crisis line for survivors and their loved ones who are suffering from the consequences of trauma caused by past abuse. If you feel the need, you can call 1-866-925-4419.