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Manitoba First Nation reports 150 anomalies found at former residential school site
Global News
Ground-penetrating radar has found 150 anomalies at the site of a former residential school, including 59 unmarked graves at a nearby cemetery.
A First Nation community in northern Manitoba says ground-penetrating radar has found 150 anomalies at the site of a former residential school, including 59 unmarked graves at a nearby cemetery.
The chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation also says 37 anomalies have been found off-site, more than a kilometre away from St. Joseph’s Residential School.
The anomalies — places where the ground has been disturbed — were found at depths of between one and two metres, Chief David Monias said Wednesday.
He said the discovery means work is now needed to determine how many of the anomalies are unmarked burial sites.
“It’s quite shocking to hear that many (anomalies), because you wonder how many missing children are there,” Monias said.
The St. Joseph’s Residential School, managed by the Roman Catholic Church, operated in the community from 1912 to 1969 and housed children from across northern Manitoba.
Researchers earlier documented 85 deaths of children at the school, Monias said when the radar search began two years ago.
Across Canada, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission detailed abuse at the schools and estimated 6,000 Indigenous children died at the institutions.