Unmarked graves found in Shubenacadie, N.S., not linked to former residential school, search finds
A team of Nova Scotia researchers has confirmed they were unable to find any unmarked graves for students who died while attending the largest residential school in Atlantic Canada.
The Sipekne'katik First Nation issued a statement Wednesday saying the search of the former Shubenacadie Residential School site north of Halifax included the use of ground-penetrating radar and aerial laser scanning. The survey team's leader, Dr. Jonathan Fowler, said the search included scans of the surrounding farmland.
Fowler, an associate professor with Saint Mary's University in Halifax, said evidence of unmarked graves was identified, but it predated the 1930 founding of the residential school by about 100 years and is likely connected to former landowners.
The First Nation's chief, Mike Sack, told members of the local Mi'kmaq community the search will resume if new information comes forward.
"As we said at the outset, our best hope would be to find no evidence of graves as we continue to grapple with the effects of the residential school system on our communities," Sack said. "We know that people need closure and healing."
Ground-penetrating radar was used at the former school in April and December of last year and again this past June and July.
There is an official list of 16 students who died while attending the school, but local Mi'kmaq elder Dorene Bernard has said survivors have come forward in the past three years to provide the names of more missing children.
The Department of Indian Affairs brought students to the school from all three Maritime provinces and the Restigouche reserve in Quebec. Operated by the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Halifax until 1956, the institution was the only school of its type in Atlantic Canada. It was closed in 1967 and burned to the ground in the 1980s.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued a report saying the country's church-run, government-sponsored residential school system was a tool for cultural genocide. The commission compiled a list 4,100 names of children who died of disease or accident while attending a residential school.
"Some of these children ran away, while others died at the schools," the commission concluded. "The exact number of children who died at school may never be known, but the death rates for many schools, particularly during times of epidemic or disease, were very high."
Last month, the federal government announced it would increase funding beyond the $27.1 million pledged in the 2019 budget for searches for unmarked graves. The funding announcement followed recent discoveries of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at several residential school sites. In all, about 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children attended residential schools.
For those Indigenous families who resisted the system, children were forcibly taken away by the RCMP. The schools were also known for overcrowding, poor sanitation, unhealthy food and menial labour. Harsh punishment was meted out for students who spoke their native language or took part in traditional ceremonies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.