'Crimes against children' at former B.C. residential institution, investigator says
Wed, January 25, 2023
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The investigation of unmarked graves at a former residential school near Williams Lake First Nation in central British Columbia has found crimes were committed against children, the lead investigator told a news conference.
Whitney Spearing said the second phase of their work has identified 66 "reflections," adding to the initial 93 potential graves already detected at the site of the former Catholic-run St. Joseph's Mission.
Children from dozens of First Nations attended the school, which operated between 1886 and 1981.
In addition to the reflections identified in technical surveys, Spearing said interviews with survivors and searches through archives revealed it is "clear" that babies born as a result of child sexual assault at the mission were disposed of by incineration.
Spearing said their work, which involved searches of government, church and police archives, found "a minimum" of 28 children died there, many of them buried in unmarked graves at the site about 500 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
The investigation has also involved an interview with a former teacher at the institution, she added, noting that person was located in Bangkok, Thailand.
Spearing concluded her remarks Wednesday by saying it "must be emphasized" that no geophysical investigation could provide evidence of human remains with certainty.
"Excavation is the only technique that will provide answers as to whether human remains are present within the reflections at St. Joseph’s Mission," she said.
The nation announced a year ago that the initial phase of its investigation had uncovered 93 "reflections" indicative of human burials.
Combined, both phases have identified 159 possible unmarked graves.
Williams Lake First Nation Chief Willie Sellars said 34 of 782 hectares requiring investigation have so far been subjected to geophysical analysis, and the next steps will potentially involve excavation in areas that have already been scanned.
Children from 48 different First Nations attended the institution, he said, and engaging with those communities around potential exhumation is a "scary thought."
"But by working together, I feel confident that we will be able to hold each other up."
The purpose of the investigation is "bringing the truth to light," Sellars said.
The history of the mission and the land surrounding it is "very dark," he said, and evidence of "horror and suffering" is "growing every day" through the investigation.
Some Canadians question the legitimacy of his community's investigation and others underway at former residential institutions across the country, he added.
"To those who are skeptical, we assure you that there is an overwhelming abundance of evidence, and that it is being carefully compiled in an orderly and scientific way," Sellars said.
Phyllis Webstad, the founder of the Orange Shirt Society, which works to honour survivors and children who never came home from residential schools, issued a statement in response to the announcement.
"How do we prepare for the news that confirms what we have known to be true?" said Webstad, who attended the school as a student.
"We, as survivors, have had to sit with this truth our entire lives and now, finally, the rest of the world is realizing these truths too."
The prime minister visited Williams Lake First Nation and the site of the former institution last spring as the community honoured survivors and children who never returned home from what Justin Trudeau described as "that so-called school."
He said his government was committed to sharing all the information it could find about the institution "to allow for healing, to allow for closure and to allow for us to move forward with full understanding of what the terrible truth of our history is.''
The probe at St. Joseph's came after ground-penetrating radar located what are believed to be more than 200 graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., in May 2021, prompting similar searches and findings in several provinces.
The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which documented the experiences of those affected by Canada's residential school system, found at least 4,100 children died while attending the institutions.
The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2023.
The Canadian Press
Wed, January 25, 2023
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The investigation of unmarked graves at a former residential school near Williams Lake First Nation in central British Columbia has found crimes were committed against children, the lead investigator told a news conference.
Whitney Spearing said the second phase of their work has identified 66 "reflections," adding to the initial 93 potential graves already detected at the site of the former Catholic-run St. Joseph's Mission.
Children from dozens of First Nations attended the school, which operated between 1886 and 1981.
In addition to the reflections identified in technical surveys, Spearing said interviews with survivors and searches through archives revealed it is "clear" that babies born as a result of child sexual assault at the mission were disposed of by incineration.
Spearing said their work, which involved searches of government, church and police archives, found "a minimum" of 28 children died there, many of them buried in unmarked graves at the site about 500 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
The investigation has also involved an interview with a former teacher at the institution, she added, noting that person was located in Bangkok, Thailand.
Spearing concluded her remarks Wednesday by saying it "must be emphasized" that no geophysical investigation could provide evidence of human remains with certainty.
"Excavation is the only technique that will provide answers as to whether human remains are present within the reflections at St. Joseph’s Mission," she said.
The nation announced a year ago that the initial phase of its investigation had uncovered 93 "reflections" indicative of human burials.
Combined, both phases have identified 159 possible unmarked graves.
Williams Lake First Nation Chief Willie Sellars said 34 of 782 hectares requiring investigation have so far been subjected to geophysical analysis, and the next steps will potentially involve excavation in areas that have already been scanned.
Children from 48 different First Nations attended the institution, he said, and engaging with those communities around potential exhumation is a "scary thought."
"But by working together, I feel confident that we will be able to hold each other up."
The purpose of the investigation is "bringing the truth to light," Sellars said.
The history of the mission and the land surrounding it is "very dark," he said, and evidence of "horror and suffering" is "growing every day" through the investigation.
Some Canadians question the legitimacy of his community's investigation and others underway at former residential institutions across the country, he added.
"To those who are skeptical, we assure you that there is an overwhelming abundance of evidence, and that it is being carefully compiled in an orderly and scientific way," Sellars said.
Phyllis Webstad, the founder of the Orange Shirt Society, which works to honour survivors and children who never came home from residential schools, issued a statement in response to the announcement.
"How do we prepare for the news that confirms what we have known to be true?" said Webstad, who attended the school as a student.
"We, as survivors, have had to sit with this truth our entire lives and now, finally, the rest of the world is realizing these truths too."
The prime minister visited Williams Lake First Nation and the site of the former institution last spring as the community honoured survivors and children who never returned home from what Justin Trudeau described as "that so-called school."
He said his government was committed to sharing all the information it could find about the institution "to allow for healing, to allow for closure and to allow for us to move forward with full understanding of what the terrible truth of our history is.''
The probe at St. Joseph's came after ground-penetrating radar located what are believed to be more than 200 graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., in May 2021, prompting similar searches and findings in several provinces.
The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which documented the experiences of those affected by Canada's residential school system, found at least 4,100 children died while attending the institutions.
The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2023.
The Canadian Press
Story by The Canadian Press •
SADDLE LAKE CREE NATION — A new report from a group looking into children who died and went missing at a residential school northeast of Edmonton says unpasteurized milk was responsible for the deaths of Indigenous children at the institution.
Probe into Alberta residential school links unpasteurized milk to children's deaths© Provided by The Canadian Press
The preliminary report was released Tuesday by the Acimowin Opaspiw Society, formed by the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in 2021 to investigate the Blue Quills residential school.
"I definitely see genocide at play," said Leah Redcrow, executive director for the society.
Researchers went through historical records from school administrators, nurses and the church. They found that doctors would check the children to make sure they were healthy entering the school, the report said, but many became sick soon after.
Redcrow estimates up to 400 children died while attending the school between 1898 and when it closed in 1990.
The school was started by Roman Catholic missionaries in Lac la Biche but later moved to the Saddle Lake Cree Nation. It was relocated again in 1931 to St. Paul, about 150 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
In 1970, parents of children at the Blue Quills school occupied the institution and demanded its operation be turned over to the First Nation. It became Canada's first residence and school controlled by First Nations people.
Survivors told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which looked into the legacy of residential schools across the country, about humiliation, labour and physical and sexual abuse at the Blue Quills residential school. They also spoke about hunger, disgusting food and being forced to eat everything they were given.
For decades, the school had its own milking cows that were purchased by the Department of Indian Affairs. The animals were not being tested for bovine tuberculosis or other diseases, the new report said, even when concerns were raised.
The report found the children were being fed the unpasteurized milk at three meals each day and later many developed tuberculosis and other diseases.
School staff and administrators had their own pasteurized dairy products, Redcrow said, and they were healthy.
Related video: Residential school survivor says revelations of unmarked burial sites leads to more healing (cbc.ca) Duration 1:16 View on Watch
"They are playing Russian roulette with these kids' lives," she said.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report on missing children and unmarked graves found that Alberta residential schools had the highest number of student deaths. Half of the deaths didn't have a cause identified. When it did, many were due to infectious disease.
"I know that they knew," Redcrow said about school staff. "How I know that they knew was because they weren't drinking that milk and they weren't getting sick."
Redcrow said an important discovery for researchers was learning that records of the children's deaths were not held within the residential school's files, but instead with the local parish. Their local parish, Sacred Heart, provided the documentation and researchers began to find names of students, she said.
Redcrow said oftentimes records showed that when a child died, their parents weren't notified.
The discovery about where records are held will give researchers the ability to tell living family members what happened to the students who never returned home, Redcrow said.
She added, however, that some children just disappeared from school records, including a member of her own family.
Redcrow said her great-grandfather Edward Redcrow, who was also sent to residential school, had 14 children with his first wife. Only four of their children came home from the institution.
One of the children, Eva, was last recorded alive in the residential school. Redcrow said there are no burial records nor vital statistics that say Eva died. But she never made it home.
The society's report also said a mass grave was identified 200 metres north of the residential school site by an accidental excavation in 2004. It was confirmed by ground-penetrating radar last year. There were no records of it in church or school documents that could explain its location, the report said.
Additionally, community members have identified two other sites of possible graves which will be prioritized for investigation later this year when weather allows for fieldwork. Community members have also found loose children's bones in a graveyard in areas where they shouldn't be, the report said.
Redcrow said there is still a significant amount of work to be done, including translating decades of church documents and further on-site excavation. But finding answers for families and giving voice to missing children motivates the work, she said.
"It's vital," she said. "It's so important."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2023.
— By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Saskatoon
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