Suspected grave sites, children’s deaths found in probe of B.C. residential school

A Vancouver Island First Nation has announced the detection of 17 suspected unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school, in an emotional event that combined science and ceremony on Tuesday. The Tseshaht First Nation, which took the lead in an 18-month effort to find potential graves of schoolchildren at the former Alberni Indian Residential School, also said interviews with survivors, historical records and other documents show 67 students died at the school. “We need to remember that all of these students were just children,” said Tseshaht Elected Chief Councillor Wahmeesh, whose English name is Ken Watts.“They were just children. So … for those of you that are not from our communities, I want you to think about that, think about what would happen today if children who were five years old were removed from their homes. “That’s the reality that our communities have to live with,” said Wahmeesh, who wore a traditional cedar headband.
The announcement was preceded by drumming and singing, and portions of the event were blacked out in a livestream because of cultural sensitivities.
Many at the ceremony wore orange, the colour that has come to represent those who died and the survivors of Canada’s residential schools. Dozens of women slowly danced to the drumming, turning on the spot in their orange shawls.
Children from at least 90 communities spanning more than 70 First Nations attended the school when it operated from 1900 to 1973.
B.C. land surveyor GeoScan has been working on the project, using ground-penetrating radar to detect possible grave sites at the former school since last July.
Brian Whiting, a geophysics division manager with GeoScan, said at the announcement that the 17 suspected graves represent the minimum number believed to be on 12 of 100 hectares that were searched.
Sheri Meding, the lead researcher who did the work with historical records and survivors’ statements, said many of the 67 children had died from medical conditions.
Meding said there were a number of recurring themes when interviewing survivors of the school, including forced abortions, multiple burial locations without markers, students finding skulls and human remains around the grounds and witnessing small coffins being taken out of the building at night. Wahmeesh said it was essential to embark on what he called “this journey of truth” despite the process being difficult for survivors. He said any legal investigations would have to be done by an independent body with Tseshaht consent, and not by the RCMP, because of the force’s role in residential schools and removing children from their homes… Source:dawnnews.com