'We are treating this like a crime scene': Cowessess First Nation finds 751 unmarked graves at former residential school site
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
Cowessess First Nation says it has located 751 unmarked gravesites on the grounds of a former residential school.
The First Nation said the graves were found after a ground-penetrating radar search of the Marieval Indian Residential School site, which began June 2.
Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme said the Marieval Indian Residential School closed in 1996 after operating for nearly 100 years. It was run by the Roman Catholic Church.
According to Delorme, in the 1960s there may have been headstones on the burial sites, but they were removed by Catholic Church representatives.
"Removing a headstone is a crime in this country. We are treating this like a crime scene at the moment."
Delorme said they cannot confirm that all of the graves are those of children, and added there are stories of adults being buried at the site, which became the community gravesite in the 1970s.
"Over the past years, the oral stories of our elders, of our survivors and friends of our survivors have told us stories. We knew these burials were here," he said.
Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme in front of the community's band office. (Marc Smith/CTV News)
Delorme said the First Nation is now working towards putting names to the graves.
“All we ask of all of you listening, is that you stand by us as we heal and we get stronger. And that we must put down our ignorance and accidental racism of not addressing the truth that this country has with Indigenous people.”
GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR
The First Nation partnered with Saskatchewan Polytechnic to search the site with ground-penetrating radar.
According to Delorme, phase one of the search covered 44,000 square meters.
He said “quite a bit” of the burial sites were graves that are one metre by one metre.
Delorme said they were told there was a 10 to 15 per cent margin of error for the ground-penetrating radar machine, which means of the 751 current hits, the confirmed number will still be more than 600.
“We want to make sure that when we tell our story that we’re not trying to make numbers sound bigger than they are.”
The chief said each of the sites will be assessed by a technical team and verified in the coming weeks.
Delorme said it's believed there are additional unmarked burial sites located on the First Nation where unbaptized children, including babies, might be buried.
"If you weren't baptized – or if somebody had a baby that maybe was not old enough to be baptized – there was a strong Catholic belief at one time that you couldn't be buried in the gravesite," Delorme said.
He said the community hopes to locate the sites during a second phase of searching.\
SEARCHING FOR UNMARKED GRAVES
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) is spearheading the effort to search for unmarked burial sites in Saskatchewan.
"The only crime we ever committed as children was being born Indigenous. A lot of work, a lot of healing will take place," FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said during the virtual news conference.
The organization recently received over $6 million in provincial and federal funding to help with its efforts.
"We will do a search on every Indian residential school site and we won't stop there. We will also search all the sanatoriums Indian hospitals and all the sites where people were taken and abused, tortured neglected and murdered," Cameron said.
"We will tell the stories of our children, of our people who died who were killed by the state, by the churches."
MARIEVAL INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL
The Marieval Indian Residential School closed in 1996 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 residential school survivor 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
NEW Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Arrest made, manslaughter charge pending in 2022 death of Calgary toddler
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
Prince William returns to public duties after wife Kate's cancer revelation
Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson Airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Russia reports downing 5 Ukrainian military balloons in Kyiv's latest apparent war innovation
Russian air defences downed what authorities described as five Ukrainian balloons overnight, the defence ministry in Moscow said Thursday, as the sides kept up long-range strikes that have featured heavily in what has largely become a war of attrition.
Frustrated farmers are rebelling against EU rules. The far right is stoking the flames
Mainstream political parties failed to act on European farmers' complaints for decades, one farmer says. Now the radical right is stepping in.