Sask. First Nation discovers hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school site
UPDATED: 751 unmarked burial sites were discovered near the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School on Cowessess First Nation.
A previous version of this story continues below.
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
Cowessess First Nation has made a “horrific and shocking discovery” of hundreds of burial sites on the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School, according to a media advisory from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN).
The FSIN said “the number of unmarked graves will be the most significantly substantial to date in Canada.”
Cowessess First Nation is scheduled to make an official announcement and provide more details Thursday morning.
SASK. PREMIER REACTS
In a statement posted to Twitter, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said “all of Saskatchewan mourns for those who were discovered buried in unmarked graves near the former Marieval Indian Residential School site.”
Moe said he has spoken with FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron and Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme to offer the “full support of the provincial government...”
MARIEVAL INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL
The Marieval Indian Residential School closed in 1997 after operating for nearly 100 years.
According to information available through the University of Regina, the school was run by the Catholic Church until Cowessess First Nation took over operations in 1981.
The federal government had purchased the property in 1926. The school was “controversially demolished” in 1999, two years after it closed, and replaced with a day school.
OTHER DISCOVERIES IN SASK.
At the beginning of June, the Muskowekwan First Nation in Saskatchewan held a ceremony to honour the 215 children whose remains were found at a Kamloops residential school site and recognize the 35 unmarked graves found on the site of the Muscowequan Indian Residential School.
In 2018 and 2019, the First Nation worked with the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta to use ground-penetrating radar to find unmarked or unidentified graves of children who attended the school.
Through that process, along with water line construction done in the 1990s, the First Nation has identified at least 35 graves. It said there are likely more still waiting to be found.
The unmarked graves of approximately 40 Indigenous children were found on the grounds of the former Regina Indian Industrial School in 2014
The provincial and federal governments have both pledged money to help search residential school sites in Saskatchewan.
--
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: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions
'Oppenheimer' finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. Japanese filmgoers' reactions understandably were mixed and highly emotional.