A First Nation in northern Alberta expects to reveal the results of its search for unmarked graves at a former residential school site later this year.
Kapawe’no First Nation, northeast of Grand Prairie, says it began its search for graves with ground-penetrating radar at Grouard Indian Residential School, also known as St. Bernard Mission School, last week and wrapped up the first phase of its search this week.
The school was opened by the Roman Catholic Church in 1894 and closed about 60 years ago.
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“We invited Dr. Kisha Supernant, Director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology and an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta, and her team to complete the ground-penetrating radar on sites we identified to date,” the nation said in a statement.
Supernant will give a report to the nation, which will then review.
Kapawe’no says work is still in progress and leadership will take time to thoroughly review the results of the radar search.
“This process is imperative to our collective healing and the initial stage of our grieving,” said the nation.
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“The path we are on is emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually difficult for our Elders and Survivors as their truths are finally unveiled and justified, and their experiences are acknowledged and validated. We listened, and the work to find our loved ones immediately commenced on the grounds surrounding the Grouard Mission sites. Kapawe’no led this work due to their proximity to the sites.”
The results of the search are expected to be shared near the end of 2021.
The nation says the work was done without any funding from the federal or provincial governments.
-with files from the Canadian Press
