'They have to be at peace:' Whereabouts of remains of 39 children’s bodies still unknown at Dunbow Industrial School
The search continues to identify the bodies of children found buried near the former Dunbow Industrial School, south of Calgary, which operated from 1884 until 1922. To date, 34 children have been named, but dozens of other bodies are still missing.
Logs kept by school administrators, obtained by Jeanette Starlight from Missionary Oblates, offer a glimpse into the care – or lack thereof - the students received.
“Joseph Arcan 13/06/1888 Died at school, started cemetery (sic) – indicated in journal.”
Joseph Arcan was the first student to die while attending Dunbow Industrial School. Before the school was closed in 1922, 72 more students would also die.
“131 Charles Godin 12/04/1897. Died on the 12th of April after a very short Illness of Brain Fever – not seen by doctor before his death.”
The records also offer insight into how the Catholic priests and nuns running the school viewed the First Nation students brought there to live and study, and what they felt was the student's future, had they survived:
Dunbow Industrial School
“024 Lucy Sinclair 17/08/1895This girl of the Blackfoot tribe was very well disposed. Learned English very quickly, she would have made a good servant girl. A diligent and neat worker. She suffered from a hip disease; fell into consumption from which she died.”
In total 430 students from First Nations across Alberta, attended Dunbow Industrial School . also known as St. Joseph's Industrial School during its 38 years of operation. Most were Siksika, or TsuuT'ina (known at the time as Blackfoot and Sarcee).
One in six died while attending the school, which was located along the banks of the Highwood River southeast of Calgary, near the end of what is now Dunbow Road.
Barn at Dunbow Industrial School near Okotoks, Alta.
Students who died at the school were buried in a cemetery near the river’s edge. In 1996 the flooding Highwood River eroded the banks. Caskets and bones spilled into the river and began washing away the remains.
“The hill was eroded very fast," said TsuuT’ina archivist Jeanette Starlight, who has been gathering information on Dunbow School since the 1996 gravesite exposure. “They put two to three bodies in one coffin, and then they buried them that way, so some of the remains that washed down to the river, they are probably still in the river.”
Dunbow Industrial School
Documents she has collected show the children were stripped of their native clothing and made to wear western attire.
Each was assigned Christian names and given a number.
The remains of 34 of the students located and reinterred at a site several hundred metres away from the river. Today a rock monument and a stone cairn commemorate the site. On the fence around the graveyard hangs a tiny orange beaded shirt, along with teddy bears, and dreamcatchers.
A tiny pair of children’s shoes sits aside the gate to the site.
Shoes from Dunbow Industrial School
Looming in the background 200 metres away, on private land, and only accessible with the owners permission, are some of the remaining school buildings. They have begun rapidly collapsing in recent years. Inside the barn there is still tack hanging on the walls. You can see names painted on the wood and inscriptions citing religious events carved into door panels.
Inside the barn
In 2014 a Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS) Humanitarian Outreach Program honoured the 34 children whose bodies had been discovered.
Traditional aboriginal and Christian ceremonies were held to mark the reburial of children. Students participating released butterflies while calling out the names of the Dunbow School students who had been identified.
“For them that was very empowering that they had honoured these children. What was very impactful is that these children were their age, and that resonated with a lot of the children," said Judy Goldsworthy, an STS teacher who worked on the project. “ It's important for me that children know the vocabulary behind truth and reconciliation, and that they are personally able to honour our history, good and bad.”
Dreamcatcher at Dunbow Industrial School
The ceremony was captured in a short film titled “Little Moccasins” produced by Laurie Somerville and directed by Ken Matheson.
Matheson recalled the ceremony as one of the most impactful moments in his life “Through making the film I was able to see it through the kids eyes, without any preconceived prejudice,” said Matheson “ I think to make change, it will have to be generational change. You have to start with the children.”
Starlight says it’s likely some of the children’s remains will never be found, but she hopes the monuments at the grave site offer some solace, and healing for the families, and for the spirits of the children buried there.
“I don't do this for myself. I do this for the children," she said. "Their spirits should be now at peace. They have to be at peace. That's the only thing that I really, really want."
“I believe that these remains, any remains can find the peace, and see a better world, and be with their parents," said Starlight. "They were taken away so young and now they want their parents. That's all I want. To find peace.”
Gravesite fence at Dunbow Industrial School site south of Calgary
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Being harassed at work? What to consider when deciding what to do next
If you've been the victim of workplace harassment, it can be difficult to feel you're not alone - and even more difficult to know where to go with a complaint.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll
A new poll indicates 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.