Here's what we know about Gordon's Indian Residential School
The more than 100-year history of residential schools on George Gordon First Nation is expected to create a complicated investigation as the community searches for possible unmarked graves.
The discovery of 14 potential burials was announced by the First Nation on Wednesday. According to officials, the investigation is the first of three ground penetrating radar searches.
“This is probably going to be at least a ten year journey for George Gordon First Nation,” said Sarah Longman, a member of George Gordon First Nation and the chair of the George Gordon First Nation IRS Cemetery Committee.
“We’re dealing with 100-plus years of history with the residential school here at George Gordon so there’s a lot of work and a lot of area to cover to find what we’re looking for,”
Here’s what we know about Gordon’s Indian Residential School.
FOUNDING AND EARLY DAYS
A school was established as a day school by the Anglican Church of Canada in 1876 on the boundary of the George Gordon First Nation. The building was expanded to include student housing in 1888, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).
An overview document of the school’s history and administration put together by the NCTR shows further expansion in 1895 and 1922, before the boarding school was destroyed by a fire in 1929.
A new building would replace it a short time later.
The school would be closed for a long period of time between 1947 and 1953 due to water and mechanical issues, according to the overview.
The building would see further additions in 1956 and 1965.
Students attending the school came from all over Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta during the time of its operation.
WHO WAS IN CHARGE
The school was run in some capacity by the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, the Anglican Church of Canada and the federal government for the majority of its history.
The government assumed direct responsibility for the administration of the school in 1969, but the church continued to provide chaplaincy services after that.
After 1975, the residences had an advisory board made up of members of the Gordon Band that was able to make policies that affected students including admissions, staffing and student discipline, according to the NCTR overview.
The school would continue to be managed by the federal government until the closure of the residences and subsequent demolition of the main building in 1996.
“We’re working with 100 plus years, I think that’s pretty obvious there’s a lot more than what we found in the first three months,” Longman said.
--
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll free line at 1-800-721-0066.
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
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.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'