Canada Indigenous group finds at least 600 unmarked graves at former residential school

A search of the former Marieval Indian Residential School grounds in Saskatchewan, Canada, had uncovered at least 600 unmarked graves, leaders of Indigenous groups said Thursday. Ground-penetrating radar had 751 "hits," but "we want to make sure when we tell our story that we're not trying to make numbers sound bigger than they are," said Chief Cadmus Delorme of the Cowessess First Nation. "I like to say over 600, just to be assured." In May, 215 bodies were discovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.
The Marieval and Kamloops boarding schools were among more than 130 funded by the Canadian government to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children. About 70 percent of the schools, including Marieval, were operated by Roman Catholic missionary congregations, and the Canadian government has acknowledged that physical and sexual abuse were rampant. More than 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in these schools between 1863 and 1998, and an estimated 6,000 of those children died in the squalid facilities.
The Marieval Indian Residential School, torn down in 1999, operated from 1899 to 1997. Chief Delorme said it's not yet clear how many of the newly discovered graves hold the remains of children, or if they are all tied to the school, but he said his nation "didn't remove these headstones," which is a crime, "and we are treating this like a crime scene at the moment." According to oral history, he said, the Catholic Church removed the headstones in the 1960s, and he's "optimistic" the church will help uncover the truth.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Archbishop Don Bolen of Regina, Saskatchewan's capital, reiterated on Thursday the archdiocese's apology two years ago for the "failures and sins of church leaders in the past," and pledged "to do what we can to turn that apology into meaningful concrete acts — including assisting in accessing information that will help to provide names and information about those buried in unmarked graves."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that his "heart breaks for the Cowessess First Nation," adding, "We will tell the truth about these injustices." The Canadian government apologized for the forced assimilation program in 2008, after a landmark National Center for Truth and Reconciliation report found the practice amounted to cultural genocide.
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said this week her department will search for graves and other "unspoken traumas" at U.S. Indian boarding schools.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Ukraine: Trump's mixed messages
Feature Trump reverses a Pentagon freeze on Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russia ramps up air attacks
-
Diddy: An abuser who escaped justice?
Feature The jury cleared Sean Combs of major charges but found him guilty of lesser offenses
-
Death from above: Drones upend rules of war in Ukraine
Feature The world's militaries are paying close attention to drone use in the Russia-Ukraine war
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murders
speed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bail
Speed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack