41 more potential unmarked graves found at former B.C. residential school, shíshálh Nation says

The shíshálh carry nation says ground-penetrating radio detection and ranging (GPR) has identified 41 sir thomas more potentiality unmarked gravesites at the former St. Augustine's Residential school day, located on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast. 

The announcement brings the total number of potential graves at the institution to 81, after the nation made its initial findings of 40 potential sites public in 2023.

Over the past 18 months, the shíshálh Nation said a GPR team has been scanning other areas on the grounds that residential school survivors identified as significant during the investigation. 

"Survivors' truths play a huge role in guiding us in our efforts to support the [First] Nations," said Katie Willie, askîhk director of operations.

Several First Nations across Canada have employed ground-penetrating radar and other methods to search the grounds of former residential schools.

What comes next in the search for missing residential school children?

Ground penetrating radar does not find human remains — it detects soil disturbances that are inconsistent with the surrounding area, which combined with community knowledge can help identify where there may potentially be unmarked graves.

"We are deeply saddened, but these numbers are not a surprise to us," Chief Lenora Joe said in a statement. "We have always believed our Elders. This wasn't a school, it wasn't a choice, and the children who attended were stolen. We didn't need the GPR to prove this happened; we always had enough proof to know."

More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded residential schools between the 1870s and 1997. 

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation estimates about 4,100 children died at residential schools across the country, based on death records, but has said the true total is likely much higher. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission said large numbers of Indigenous children who were forcibly sent to residential schools never returned home.

Residential schools have been described by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada as an "attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages." 

Children were removed from their home communities and families for extended periods in order to go to residential school. 

The Indian Act was amended in 1920 to require Indigenous children with Treaty status to go to residential school or day school. Unlike residential school survivors, day school students remained in their communities and went home in the evenings, but they suffered similar abuse and faced cultural assimilation. 

Residential schools were often under-funded, overcrowded and, according to the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, the education offered at residential schools was poor.

Children forced to attend residential schools were punished for speaking their own languages and engaging in other cultural practices. Many suffered verbal, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of staff and other students. 

"The schools hurt the children," the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says on its website.

"The schools also hurt their families and their communities. Children were deprived of healthy examples of love and respect. The distinct cultures, traditions, languages, and knowledge systems of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples were eroded by forced assimilation."

The shíshálh Nation said it is working with 53 other First Nations whose children attended the institution, most of which are in B.C., but some as far away as Saskatchewan. 

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.

Journalist

Courtney Dickson is an award-winning journalist based in Vancouver, B.C.

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