Another First Nation is in mourning, after the discovery of more graves at the sites of former residential schools.
There have been 54 potential gravesites found by ground-penetrating radar at two locations in northeastern Saskatchewan.
Officials say the discovery confirms oral accounts made by survivors of the two schools, run by the Roman Catholic Church.
Keeseekoose First Nation said 54 hits were made from ground-penetrating radar on the grounds of the former Fort Pelly and St. Philips residential schools near Kamsack indicating potential gravesites and remains.
“The locations we’re scanning were identified by survivors and knowledge keepers from oral history,” said Ted Quewezance, the former chief of the First Nation and a residential school survivor.
“Ground-penetrating radar simply validated our oral history.”
Fort Pelly Residential School operated from 1905 until it closed in 1913. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says the principal was fired in 1911 after it was reported he was drunk and threatening everyone at the school.
St. Philips Residential School opened in 1928 and closed in 1969. The commission found the school had a widespread problem with sexual and physical abuse, which led to the dismissal of a school supervisor during the school’s final decade.
The commission, which documented stories from survivors and issued a final report in 2015, has a record of two student deaths at St. Philip’s and two at Fort Pelly.
