WORLD

93 potential graves found at Canada school site

An Indigenous community in British Columbia has found 93 potential burial sites on the grounds of a former residential school, the latest such discovery in the past year from one of the darkest chapters of Canada’s history.

Chief Willie Sellars of Williams Lake First Nation said Tuesday that preliminary findings of an investigation into the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School and its environs were part of a wider process of healing from scars passed down across generations. “This journey has led our investigation team into the darkest recesses of human behavior,” he told a news conference.

Nearly 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families, often by force, between the 1800s and 1990s in an attempt to assimilate them. They were sent to government-funded, church-run schools that prohibited them from speaking Indigenous languages and practicing their traditions. Many faced neglect and abuse.

93 potential graves found at Canada school site
The probe near Williams Lake came after the discovery last May of unmarked graves at another former facility in British Columbia, the Kamloops Indian Residential School. (COLE BURSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

The probe near Williams Lake came after the discovery in May of the probable unmarked graves of Indigenous children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Colombia, once the largest in Canada. The discovery was announced at 215 graves; after further investigation, the number was revised down to 200.

Many residential schools were shut down in the 1970s. The last one closed in 1997.

Officials said on Tuesday the latest 93 sites showed “reflections” indicating “potential human burials” after using ground-penetrating radar on 14 of the hundreds of hectares of the school grounds, though excavation would be necessary to confirm their presence.

The findings at the residential school “where three generations of my family attended is traumatizing, yet it also serves as validation of the stories told,” said Phyllis Webstad, who founded a nonprofit for reconciliation.

“I have often thought of this day,” she wrote in a statement. “I grieve for all who never made it.”

In a tweet on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared the number of a National Indian Residential School Crisis Line set up to support former students. “Today’s news from Williams Lake First Nation brings a lot of distressing emotions to the surface,” he said.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
Close