Possible graves discovered at former schools

Saskatchewan First Nation in Canada has announced the discovery of 54 potential unmarked graves on the grounds of two former residential schools, calling it a "somber" day.

Ted Quewezance, the former chief of the First Nation and a residential school survivor, said the discovery validated their oral history.

"The locations we're scanning were identified by survivors and knowledge keepers from oral history," said Quewezance during a news conference hosted by the Keeseekoose First Nation on Tuesday.

Guided by oral history, the First Nation used ground-penetrating radar to search the grounds of two residential schools and found 54 "hits"－42 at Fort Pelly and 12 at St. Philip's.

Both schools were run by the Catholic Church.

The former Fort Pelly Residential School operated from 1905 until 1913. The principal was fired in 1911 after it was reported he was drunk and threatening everyone at the school.

St. Philip's Residential School opened in 1928 and was closed in 1969. The school was found to have widespread problems with sexual and physical abuse, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

'A very tough time'

Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty said the discovery is "essential" to revealing the truth about the schools.

"It's important to acknowledge the courage of those that are willing to stand up here, and have in the past, to share their stories, to inform us so that we know the truth," said Mirasty, noting the graves could belong to children who were murdered and also hold evidence of crimes committed, but they have no answers yet.

"It is a very tough time for us," Keeseekoose Chief Lee Kitchemonia said. "Somebody has to be held accountable for it."

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said the federal government and churches must be held accountable for what happened at residential schools.

"These residential institutions of assimilation and genocide tore apart our families. They tore at the very social fabric of our communities and our nations," Archibald said at Tuesday's virtual news conference.

Archibald said she doesn't want to use the word "school" anymore when talking about residential schools, as tens of thousands of Indigenous children were forced to attend the institutions, and thousands died in there.

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, who also joined the event, called Canada's ongoing shame in the face of these findings "devastating".

"Today is a painful reminder of the abuse and the lasting pain inflicted on so many children, their families and their communities," said Miller."The stories of the children who never returned home from residential schools must be remembered and honored."

Considering that 139 residential schools across Canada have been recognized by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, Archibald said the discoveries of the Keeseekoose First Nation and others are just the beginning.

On Jan 25, the Williams Lake First Nation in British Columbia announced the discovery of 93 potential graves at the sprawling site of a former residential school in Central Interior.

The techniques including ground-penetrating radar used in the discovery of remains of 215 children near Kamloops last spring have helped Williams Lake to scour a 14-hectare area.

It is part of a total 470 hectares around the former St. Joseph's Mission Residential School, which was closed in 1981 after 90 years of operation.

Searches are continuing at a number of schools across the country.

The ever growing numbers of suspected school burials have put national and international scrutiny on Canada's treatment of Indigenous peoples.

At least 150,000 children from the Indigenous community were forced to attend Canadian residential schools between the late 1800s and the 1990s across the country. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report provided conservative estimates of between 4,000 and 6,000 children who had died in residential schools.

Causes of death included physical abuse, malnutrition, disease and neglect. Others died by suicide, or by trying to escape the schools.