Potential anonymous burials discovered near Prince George | The tragic fate of victims of residential schools for Aboriginal people

Potential anonymous burials discovered near Prince George | The tragic fate of victims of residential schools for Aboriginal people
Potential anonymous burials discovered near Prince George | The tragic fate of victims of residential schools for Aboriginal people

The chief of a central British Columbia First Nation says potential unmarked graves have been identified at the site of the former Lejac residential school for Indigenous children, after nearly two years of geophysical survey work.

Warning : details contained in this text may disturb some readers.

A statement from the First Nation says the settlement had a cemetery on its land since its founding in 1922, but research to date suggests a number of unmarked burials have gone unaccounted for.

She says a preliminary report from a georadar and magnetometer survey identified several geophysical signals that could represent burials.

The First Nation indicates that the research covered more than 142,500 m2 of land. She says comparing the results with records revealed a number of potential unmarked burials.

The statement announcing the report and its findings Saturday did not provide an estimate of the number of potential unmarked burial sites.

Ground-penetrating radar is one of a series of methods used to search the grounds of former residential schools. This tool does not allow the identification of human remains, but the search for anomalies in the ground.

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A technician using ground penetrating radar at the site of the former Lejac Indian Residential School in north-central British Columbia.

Photo: Provided by Nadleh Whut’en First Nation.

Nadleh Whut’en Chief Beverly Ketlo said the First Nation will share information as officials receive it because survivors have the right to know. She discussed the report and its findings at a news conference in Fraser Lake, B.C.

The First Nation specifies that the research data was verified by two independent analysts and that magnetometry technology was also used to detect metallic objects in the ground.

According to the First Nation, there is no immediate desire to excavate the ground where the potential unmarked burials have been identified. The team led by residential school survivors will provide information on the next steps for the project.

The Lejac residential school for Aboriginal children was in operation from 1922 to 1976, run by the Catholic Church under contract with the Canadian government, and accommodated up to 7,850 Aboriginal children, including day students.

The boarding school closed in 1976, and the building was razed in 1990.

The Lejac boarding school made national headlines in the late 1930s when four boys — a 9-year-old, an 8-year-old and two 8-year-olds — were found frozen to death after running away and trying to cross the lake Fraserlocated nearby.

With information from Akshay Kulkarni and The Canadian Press

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