Leaders of the first two nations in Manitoba say their communities are still searching for answers after discovering possible graves with the help of penetrating radar on the sites of former residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church.
Sagkeeng First Nation found 190 soil anomalies, and Minegoziibe Anishinabe First Nation found six. Initial data show that the irregularities meet some of the criteria for graves, but both communities say more information is needed.
The news was recently shared with community members.
“We will take the time to make sure we are doing the right thing,” said Sagkeeng boss Derrick Henderson.
Sagkeeng’s efforts began last year. Residents of the housing schools shared their memories of areas that believed there could be graves associated with the Fort Alexander housing school.
The school was opened in 1905 in the community of Fort Alexander, which later became the Sagkeeng First Nation. He worked until 1970 and had a reputation for abuse. The survivors told the Commission about the truth and reconciliation of hunger and harsh discipline.
The community worked with a drone company that conducted ground-penetrating radar on three levels.
Henderson said he found two places with anomalies. None of them is a known cemetery, but both are places to which the survivors of the housing schools have indicated on the maps before the search began.
Henderson said the leadership will consult with elders, survivors and pipe bearers to decide the next steps to confirm if there are any graves.
“How do we start digging?” Henderson thought. “I probably need to bring in archaeologists. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
When the information was shared with community members, they had a celebration and ceremony, he said.
Many members of the community are struggling with unanswered questions as more anomalies are discovered, Henderson said. It will take time to find security, he added, and only then can the closure and treatment begin.
“Now we know the places. Now we know there’s something.”
In the first nation Minegoziibe Anishinabe six anomalies are under a church on the site of the former Pine Creek housing school, said Chief Derek Nepinac.
Survivors have called for the area to be inspected for “terrible stories” about what happened in the church’s basement, he said.
The first nation treated the area as a potential crime scene, he said.
“We are looking for answers, but what we are doing is getting to more questions,” he said.
Minegoziibe Anishinabe also hired a drone technology company that specializes in ground penetration radars. The company used a cart to conduct a ground search under the church due to the enclosed space, a community statement said.
Survivors and community members have ordered management to conduct another, more detailed radar search of the basement.
The public is still awaiting results from another area, which is believed to have unmarked burials, the chief said.
The Pine Creek School operated from 1890 to 1969 in several different buildings on a large plot. The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation has a record of 21 deaths of children at school, and survivors have long spoken of violence in the institution.
Nepinac said the First Nation has gone through records and knows of dozens of children who died while attending school, but there may be others who are not part of the story.
Healing will take time, he said. The hope is that it will inform future generations.
“We want the truth to be told and the truth to be known.”
The Health Support Resolution Program for Indian Residential Schools has a hotline to help survivors of residential schools and their relatives suffering from trauma caused by recollection of past violence. The number is 1-866-925-4419.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 11, 2022.
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