'Years of work ahead': Alberta's Indigenous communities to search for and document unmarked graves
The work to search for and document Alberta's unmarked graves and deaths at residential schools will take "years," say those who are partnering with communities on the work.
The University of Alberta's Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology (IPIA) is using ground-penetrating technology and drones to search for unmarked burial sites. It's already partnered with five communities, including the Enoch Cree First Nation and Papaschase First Nation.
Professor Kisha Supernant, who is Métis, said more communities are reaching out after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops and 751 unmarked graves on the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan.
"We've had a pretty steady stream of inquiries and First Nations and Métis communities reaching out to us to talk about ways that they can start this (work)," Supernant said.
She called the news out of B.C. and Saskatchewan heartbreaking, but not surprising.
"I think there are many unmarked graves across many of these landscapes around residential schools, and there are other places where our relatives, our Indigenous relatives, are in unmarked graves and unprotected areas," she said.
FUNDING TO DOCUMENT UNMARKED GRAVES
On Wednesday, the Alberta Government announced $8 million in funding to search and document unmarked graves.
Searching the province could take a long time, Supernant said. Alberta was home to the most residential schools of any province or territory in Canada.
At least 134 schools are recognized in the country, 25 of them were here in Alberta between 1893 and 1996.
At least 134 residential schools are recognized in the country, 25 of them were here in Alberta between 1893 and 1996.
"This is going to have to be addressed on a nation-by-nation basis, to have the community and the family members decided how they want to go forward," said Core Voyageur, a sociology professor at the University of Calgary.
"We can't take the process and the decisions out of the hands of the family and of the First Nations," she said.
Voyageur is a residential school survivor herself, having attended the Holy Angels Residential School in Fort Chipewyan, Alta.
Her research suggests there at least 4,200 students estimated to have died at Canadian residential schools.
"I'm fully expecting that we're going to find human remains in my own community, and this is going to impact my family and friends," Voyageur said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.