• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Canada

Canada: 182 Unmarked Graves Discovered Near Catholic School

  • The doors of a Catholic cathedral in Saskatoon, Canada, June 27, 2021.

    The doors of a Catholic cathedral in Saskatoon, Canada, June 27, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @APTNNews

Published 1 July 2021
Opinion

The Aq'am community used ground-penetrating radar to find the remains close to the former St. Eugene's Mission School.

On Wednesday, the Aq'am Indigenous community announced the discovery of the remains of 182 people in unmarked graves around a former Indigenous residential school near Cranbrook in British Columbia province.

RELATED:

Pope Francis To Meet Residential School Survivors

This community used ground-penetrating radar to find the remains close to the former St. Eugene's Mission School, the Lower Kootenay Band said.

The Indigenous school was operated by the Catholic Church from 1912 until the early 1970s. The building has since been converted into a resort and casino, with an adjacent golf course.

"It is believed that the remains of these 182 souls are from the member Bands of the Ktunaxa Nation, neighboring First Nations communities and the community of Aq'am," the band said.

The finding followed the discovery of the estimated remains of 215 people at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia and an estimated 751 unmarked graves near a site of the Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.

The community's leadership met with residential school survivors in the community before announcing the discovery and referred them to support. The band said it is in the early stages of learning about the report's findings and will provide more updates.

About 150,000 indigenous children attended residential schools. The schools were known for overcrowding, poor sanitation, unhealthy food, and menial labor. Harsh punishment was given to students who spoke their native language or took part in traditional ceremonies.

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.