A 'comprehensive plan in place' for searching former Sask. residential school sites after feds pledge nearly $5M
The Government of Canada has announced funding to help search for unmarked burial sites at Saskatchewan’s former residential schools.
It’s providing $4.88 million to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) to help gather knowledge about the sites and support any necessary ceremonies.
“We acknowledge the ongoing impact of intergenerational trauma. We must never forget the tragic history of residential schools,” said Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.
The announcement comes less than a week after the province promised $2 million to help.
“We do have a comprehensive plan in place…and we will be working closely with each of our member nations that have had sites,” said David Pratt, second Vice Chief of FSIN .
Pratt said on top of the searching, more services are going to be needed to help people heal from the trauma.
“We say we’re alright, but we know it's still inside us, inside our hearts,” said Chief of Fishing Lake First Nation Derek Sunshine.
“Obviously, mental health supports, addictions, the list goes on and on in terms of the those supports that we’re going to be needing moving forward,” said Pratt.
Eddie Bitternose grew up on Muskowekwan First Nation and is already aware that there are bodies buried around the former Muscowequan Indian Residential School.
The former Muscowequan Indian Residential School building still stands on the Muskowekwan First Nation (Colton Wiens/CTV News)
The former Muscowequan Indian Residential School building still stands on the Muskowekwan First Nation (Colton Wiens/CTV News)
“I think working with my dad, we pulled out our first box when I was about 12,” said Eddie Bitternose, who attended Gordon’s and Muscowequan Indian Residential School and Lebret (Qu’Appelle) Indian Industrial Residential School. “The priest at that time reburied it up on the hill...”
Bitternose said at the time, it was almost normal to come across a grave and go and tell the priest. He remembers finding seven or eight more graves while doing construction one summer.
“Then we’d have a little burial ceremony up on the hill and the day went on,” Bitternose said.
A 2018 study of the land around Muscowequan discovered 35 grave sites, but it only covered a small portion of the area. With the new funding, the entire area will be searched, and Bitternose expects more graves will be found.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.