Kamloops Indian Residential School. (CFJC News)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Alberta to fund search for unmarked Indigenous graves

Jun 1, 2021 | 1:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Government of Alberta is joining calls to search for Indigenous peoples who perished in the residential school system.

Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson says the discovery of 215 lost children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School heightened the need to take action.

“Alberta’s government extends sincere condolences to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and all of the families affected by this profound tragedy. They need real progress from governments, institutions, and from every one of us toward real reconciliation.”

More than 150,000 Indigenous youths were forced into residential schools in the 19th and 20th Centuries, run by Canadian governments and religious authorities.

The goal was to indoctrinate the youths into “Euro-Canadian” and Christian ways of life. Many suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in this system as well as other forms of trauma.

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The Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement places the number of First Nation, Metis, and Inuit children who died while attending these schools at more than 4,100, although the actual number is likely much higher than that.

Out of the 139 residential schools in Canada, 26 were in Alberta. Among those, six were in Southern Alberta.

“The intergenerational trauma caused to students, families and communities sparked the need for a countrywide effort to document the history and legacy of the residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released their report in 2015, and the work toward reconciliation continues.

Wilson recalled Action 74 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s action calls.

It asks that the federal government work with churches and Indigenous leaders to let families know where their children or relatives are buried and to respond to their wishes regarding commemoration.”

“Alberta joins that effort. Today, I am announcing the Alberta government’s intention to fund research into the undocumented deaths and burials of hundreds of Indigenous children who did not make their way home,” says Wilson.

“Finding their graves is a matter of reconciliation and another step toward closure for families. Many of the schools have been destroyed and while their general location is known, the exact coordinates are missing. It is also possible that children were buried in locations such as nearby churches.”

Further details of this funding will be announced in the coming days.