Muskowekwan First Nation recognizes 35 unmarked graves at residential school site
The Muskowekwan First Nation has laid out 35 pairs of children’s moccasins and shoes to honour each unmarked gravesite located at the site of its former residential school.
The First Nation said the shoes will also honour the 215 children whose remains were found at a Kamloops residential school site last week.
The last residential school in Saskatchewan to close its doors, called Muscowequan Indian Residential School, was located on Muskowekwan First Nation. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1997.
A sign that reads "We Support Kamloops" hangs on the front of the Muscowequan Indian Residential School, the last residential school to close its doors in Saskatchewan in 1997. (Stefanie Davis/CTV Regina)
On Tuesday, dozens of people gathered at the school site to pay tribute to residential school attendees and survivors across the country.
Roland Desjarlais attended the Muscowequan Indian Residential School for nine years. He was taken from his family when we was only seven.
“I thought I was only going to come here to visit because I live so close, but I couldn’t go home,” Desjarlais said. “When you’re just a little child, you’re crying day after day after day.”
His family lived just metres away from the school.
“The thing about me being here is that I could see my mother doing laundry outside,” he said. “Being seven or eight years old and not being able to go see her, to go join her – how come I can’t just go home? You absolutely do not understand any part of that.”
He remembers playing sports during his days at the school, which he said he enjoyed. But he also remembers physical abuse when he was caught trying to learn his language from other students.
Desjarlais said his father spoke Cree. He never got to learn much of the language because of his time at the residential school. Now he wishes he could pass it on to his children and grandchildren.
GROUND RADAR FINDINGS
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 1990’s, the First Nation has identified at least 35 graves. It said there are likely more still waiting to be found.
“Our elders have told us that there’s a lot of areas here that haven’t been explored and eventually we will do that,” Cynthia Desjarlais, a councillor on Muskowekwan First Nation, said at the ceremony on Tuesday.
She said the universities will come back to explore more of the land, but there have been delays due to funding and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and the Saskatchewan government are calling on the federal government to help fund radar ground searches at residential schools in Saskatchewan.
“Then we deal with the findings. Obviously closure and that healing journey would continue for so many families,” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said.
Cameron said he’s proud of Saskatchewan for being one of the first regions to “hit the ground running” with organizing radar ground searching and to have the support of the premier.
“We met and discussed [on Monday] with three radar ground search companies who are ready to do the work,” Cameron said.
Cameron said he’s hopeful the process could start by next week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.