Wider consultation needed before going ahead with radar search of former residential schools
CBC
WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.
Officials from the Cree Nation of Chisasibi in northern Quebec plan to widen consultations with former students before deciding whether to move forward with a ground penetrating radar search of former residential school sites located on Fort George Island.
Fort George Island, which is near present-day Chisasibi, was the site of the first two residential schools in Quebec — St. Philip's Indian Residential School (Anglican), which opened in 1933, and the Fort George Roman Catholic Residential School (also known as Ste. Therese de l'Enfant Jesus school), which opened in 1937.
But because of fire and other changes over the years, there were five different school sites built to house the two schools between 1933 and 1981.
Three of them were Anglican and two were Catholic, according to Chisasibi Deputy Chief Paula Napash, who is the person leading the consultations.
"In Fort George, we have a very unique and complex situation," said Napash.
Ground penetrating radar was used earlier this year to locate unmarked graves at former residential schools such as Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C. and the Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, among others.
Consultations were held locally in Chisasibi in November and the majority of survivors wanted to move forward with a ground penetrating radar search on Fort George Island in the wake of the discoveries of unmarked graves, said Napash.
"It opened old wounds, but it also affected them deeply," said Napash, adding many recall seeing things at the school or hearing stories and really wanting to know the truth.
"[For many] it was like starting over again in their healing journey ... that's why it's so delicate," said Napash.
There was also agreement that survivors who attended the Fort George Island schools from other communities also needed to be consulted before a decision was made.
"We had students from all over the coast of James Bay, Hudson Bay and even Ontario," said Napash.
She said students came from places such as Albany, Attawapiskat, Moosonee in Ontario, as well as Mashteuiatsh (Pointe-Bleue), and other Cree communities such as Eastmain, Whapmagoostui (Great Whale), Wemindji (Old Factory River, Paint Hills) Waskaganish (Rupert House) and Nemaska and others.
"We don't want to exclude anyone. Fort George was their home too. They were part of the community," said Napash. She said she will be reaching out to band councils in those communities soon, to map out a way forward.
