Unmarked graves found in Canadian boarding schools

In Canada, 54 other graves have been discovered in two former Catholic boarding schools. These are probably the graves of Aboriginal children who were put in residential schools until the end of the last century, to force them to adapt to white Canadian culture.

The graves were discovered by the Keeseekoose First Nation, an Indigenous community in Canada. “They disappeared off the face of the earth, never to be seen again,” said community leader Lee Kitchemonia. Canadian media† “That’s the hardest part.”

He says he is happy that the questions have finally been answered, although many questions remain. For example, it is now possible to know if children are related to members of the community.

The discovery was made in the province of Saskatchewan, using ground-based radar. This is a technique in which an image is made from underground. The graves were in St. Philip’s and Fort Pelly Schools, administered by the Catholic Church and open from 1905 to 1913 and from 1928 to 1969.

Adapt to culture

Across Canada, 150,000 Aboriginal children were sent to 139 residential schools. The children were separated from their families and had to adapt to the culture of the white residents of Canada. Children have been abused and murdered in schools.

Regularly mass graves of children are found near schools. Last month, another 50 graves were discovered at a boarding school in British Columbia. This boarding school was closed in 1981.

The Canadian government apologized and offered Indigenous peoples converted earlier this year 28 billion euros to compensate for the suffering inflicted on them.