Search for unmarked graves underway at site of former residential school in Manitoba

A First Nation in Manitoba has officially started its search for potential unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.

Pimicikamak First Nation, located in Cross Lake, Man. approximately 773 kilometres north of Winnipeg, started the search on Monday. Crews are using ground-penetrating radar to scour the grounds of St. Joseph’s Residential School, which operated, from 1912 to 1969.

“Our hope is actually to see if we can find some anomalies that may indicate some unmarked grave sites,” said Chief David Monias.

First Nations communities across Canada have been searching the sites of former residential schools for possible unmarked graves of children who died while attending residential schools in the wake of a discovery in Kamloops last year.

Minegoziibe Anishinabe First Nation and Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba discovered anomalies following radar searches earlier this year. Work is underway to determine if the anomalies are unmarked graves.

Monias said staff in Pimicikamak First Nation are searching through archived documents to learn more about the students who went to the school.

“There have been testimonies by residential school survivors that indicated there are children who were there before and then not seen again,” he said. “So we are wondering, in terms of what happened, we want to know who were the students, we want to know who went to school there, and we want to know who actually died while going to the school.”

Monias said initially they knew 35 children were listed as having died at St. Joseph’s Residential School, though according to documents that have been received, 85 children may have actually died at the school.

“That was really devastating for people that read the report,” he said, adding the community is looking for any documentation of burial sites for the children.

Monias added the community is providing mental health supports and psychological services for people in the community who need it.

If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419. Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.