Potential unmarked graves identified at B.C.'s Lejac residential school: First Nation

WARNING: This story contains details of experiences at residential schools.

A First Nation in north-central British Columbia says it has discovered several potential unmarked graves on the grounds of a residential school, following the use of ground-penetrating radar.

The Nadleh Whut'en First Nation announced the preliminary findings of an ongoing search of the grounds of the Lejac Indian Residential School on Saturday afternoon. The First Nation has always known children were buried at the church-run institution because many of their graves were marked in a cemetery that had been there since 1922, when the school opened. However, the survey's findings suggest a number of unmarked graves as well, said Nadleh Whut'en Chief Beverly Ketlo at a news conference. "We have information today that shows that there are likely grave sites in the location of the Lejac school," she said. "We knew there were more children there, we just didn't know where. How many — and this is a question I ask everybody I meet — how many of the schools you attended had graveyards in the backyard?" The survey did not positively identify any unmarked graves, but indicated "23 markers" of potential burial locations, she said. 

An estimated 7,850 Indigenous children were forced to attend the residential school, which operated about 140 kilometres west of Prince George, B.C., from 1922 until 1976, according to the nation.

The nation's Saturday announcement is the latest of several by First Nations across Canada as they take up the task of surveying the sites of former residential schools to search for thousands of children who went missing or died at the church-run institutions.

In a statement, Nadleh Whut'en said its search is being led by residential school survivors under the project name "Nez Keh Hubuk'uznootah," which means "Let's look for our children" in the Dakelh language.

"The abuses endured at Lejac and other Indian Residential Schools are not just a thing of the past," Ketlo said in a statement.

"The horrors experienced at Lejac are still very real for the survivors who lived through this genocide. Hundreds of people have died as adults due to the trauma they experienced there."

Former chief Archie Patrick, who attended the Lejac school as a young boy, said the students were forced to work as labourers, doing heavy farm work while being denied the dietary benefits of the food they helped produce.

"Essentially, it was a jail for children in which you worked without pay to pay for your own brainwashing."

The nation says there will be further geophysical surveys conducted in consultation with survivors in the years to come.

Ground-penetrating radar is among a series of methods being used to search the grounds of former residential schools. The tool does not identify human remains, but instead looks for anomalies in the soil. 

Nadleh Whut'en says its search using the technology began in late 2023. Unlike many other residential schools, Lejac featured a cemetery next to the school .

The First Nation says its survey looked at parts of the grounds that survivors identified, and over 142,500 square metres of ground was searched. It says that matching the survey results with archival records showed a number of potential unmarked graves.