Unmarked graves at Regina residential school getting permanent markers
Orange markers have been donated by Pasqua First Nation to the Regina Indian Industrial School (RIIS) Commemorative Association to identify the graves located in the cemetery.
Members of the nation, as well as dignitaries including Mayor Sandra Masters and Lieutenant Governor Russ Merasty, were in attendance for the announcement on Sunday afternoon.
The RIIS Heritage Site is located two kilometres away from the location of the former residential school, a distance Pasqua First Nation Chief Matthew Peigan said was necessary to hide what he calls an “atrocity.”
Pasqua First Nation and Pro Metal Industries donated the 38 grave markers to create a permanent memory of the children who didn’t come home.
The permanent aluminum feather-shaped markers will be placed in the cemetery.
An example of the orange aluminum markers to be placed at each of the 38 children buried at the RIIS Heritage Site. (Kaylyn Whibbs/CTV News)
"We want to help remember and in placing these grave markers I believe for decades we will continue to remember,” said Chief Peigan.
Chief Peigan said a similar offer will be made to other First Nations with unmarked graves, such as Cowessess First Nation and Muskowekwan First Nation.
Chris Scribe, a residential school descendent, said events and fixtures like this brings truth forward, allowing Indigenous people and allies to move forward together.
He said people are visual, meaning we need to see it to believe it.
"When we see something, then we know that it's real. When we see that happening here we know it's real," said Scribe of the markers and being able to see the distance between the graves and the site of the former school.
Two searches have been carried out at the site since its discovery in 2011. First in 2012, when 32 anomalies were found, then again in 2014 when six more were located.
Sarah Longman, chair of the RIIS Commemorative Association, said the search at the historical site will continue with the guidance of elders and survivors.
"When you come out to visit this site we ask that you come here with the knowledge and understanding that we're not done, and that perhaps the ground that we're standing on or the ground that you're sitting on or the ground that you're driving on may actually be a spot," said Longman in her address to the crowd.
The 38 markers were not put up at the site on Sunday, but the commemorative association said the bright orange markers will be in place for the Sept. 30 holiday for truth and reconciliation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.