A Saskatchewan First Nation said it found 93 unmarked children’s graves on Tuesday, according to CTV News.
“This is not a final number. It breaks my heart that there are probably more of them,” Jenny Wolverine, chief of the English River First Nation, said at a news conference in Saskatoon.
The country began excavating the site of the former Beauval residential school using georadar in August 2021.
“We weren’t sure what to expect,” Jenny Wolverine said. “But we knew the stories that had spread through generations about the treatment of students and those who never returned home.”
“As a community, we have come together and prioritized our seniors who survived this ordeal,” she added. We organized a ceremony to help them reconcile and heal their spirit.
The chief of the English River Nation called on the federal and provincial governments to provide resources to continue the search.
“It’s not just about money,” Jenny Wolverine said. We’ve heard the excuses before. We must act now, and that means continuing to bring home the children we have lost in residential schools.”
According to the University of Regina, the Beauval Indian Residential School was founded in 1860 and operated for more than a century. Until 1969 it was operated by a Roman Catholic mission.
In 2013, a former dormitory director at the school was convicted of indecent assault and gross indecency for attacks on young boys between 1959 and 1967.