Mother Nature has unearthed more bones at a 200-year-old cemetery in Ingonish, N.S. where erosion is washing human remains out to sea.
People in the community have been trying to find a solution to the problem for years, and now so is the government.
Area resident Glorie MacDougall says she will never forget the moment she spotted a human skull while walking along the beach below the graveyard with her son.
“We saw a bunch of bones below the graveyard and as you looked up, there was this skull looking down over the cliff at us,” says MacDougall. “It was kind of an eerie feeling.”
Hector Murphy is the caretaker at the Ingonish graveyard. He says erosion has been washing away the cliff-top graves for about 50 years and each day, more and more bones are unearthed.
“Frost is coming out of the ground now,” says Murphy. “Next couple of days, we’re supposed to get heavy rain for two or three days, there’s gonna be quite a few more I would say.”
Community members have long been lobbying government for help preventing more bones from spilling over the bank.
The Ingonish United Church owns the property; it has a small cemetery trust fund, but it doesn’t come close to covering the costs of repairing the erosion.
“We barely have enough money to pay for our building,” says Rev. Margie Wood.
A spokesperson for the provincial government says no government department holds sole responsibility for the problem. However, the government says it is still considering options to help find a solution.
Liberal MLA Pam Eyking promises there will be discussions on the matter.
“I’ll definitely be looking into it,” says Eyking. “I’ll be working with departments to see if there is anything we can do as a province.”
Community members say fixing the problem is a matter of human dignity.
“It’s disrespectful to families who…wander down to the beach,” says Wood. “You have this skull and leg bones sitting on the beach, well, is it great-grandpa?”
Community members say they will continue to search for a solution so that their ancestors can remain at peace.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
