George Gordon First Nation announces 8 more potential unmarked burial sites near former residential school

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

George Gordon First Nation announced Friday that a second phase of geophysical survey has detected eight anomalies consistent with the shape, size and arrangement of graves or burials near the site of the former Gordon’s Indian Residential School.

These discoveries add to what the First Nation described as 14 anomalies detected in Phase 1 of the search, which ended in 2022. The First Nation is located approximately 95 kilometers north of Regina.

“This recent discovery deepens our collective sadness and strengthens our resolve to continue the search for truth and justice for all affected,” said Shawn Longman, chief of the George Gordon First Nation.

The studied area, he said, has two zones of interest that will require further research.

“We will continue to examine each area with the utmost care and respect, ensuring that no opportunity is missed,” said Shawn Longman.

He said he recognized the grief associated with the discoveries and asked community members to support each other, use available resources, provide comfort and provide space for healing.

In 2021, the George Gordon First Nation began an effort to locate the unmarked graves of former residential school students who were never returned to their families, then-director Byron Bitternose said after the team completed the first stage of the process.

In 2021, a committee was formed to honor experiences and memories and “recognize genocide and the impact that this collective legacy has on members of the George Gordon First Nation,” Bitternose said at the time.

Sarah Longman, chairwoman of the unmarked graves commission, said Friday that after consulting with residential school survivors, their descendants and community members, they had identified areas that needed investigation.

She said “this is just the beginning” and that they will enter the third phase of the search, during which they will expand the area of ​​interest where the anomalies were detected. She said these areas had been and would continue to be identified after consultation with residential school survivors, their descendants and community members.

Sarah Longman said Phase 2 was the first time the team received a federal grant to continue their work.

“We explored very small parts of this very, very large reserve. “We will need much more support to continue the search,” she said.

The first phase of the search included examining four different areas within the First Nation, where the chief said they discovered one location of high probability.

The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation’s memorial to children who died or went missing in residential schools lists nearly 50 names associated with Gordon’s facility.

On Friday, Shawn Longman said he and George Gordon First Nation councilor Joseph McNab attended the school. He said reports of Native children being “brutalized, beaten and abused” were common and gave reason to believe there were “many more” graves waiting to be found.

“It really brought back memories of the harmful things that happened there,” he said.

McNab was 11 or 12 years old when he started school, but he stated that he did not observe any deaths between 1968 and 1975. But McNab said his ancestors’ history with the land made him concerned as a student.

“It really makes you feel uncomfortable about it and I think finding the truth about everything that happened here is a priority for our community,” McNab said.

According to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, the school was founded on the First Nation in 1876 by the Anglican Church of Canada, which operated it until 1946, when it was taken over by the Indian and Inuit Welfare Commission and eventually by the Canadian government. Canada.

It was expanded in 1888 to accommodate students before the first version was destroyed by fire in 1929. It was rebuilt, but water and maintenance problems caused it to close again for extended periods between 1947 and 1953.

The center says that after it closed in 1996, it would be one of the last boarding schools to close in the country.

Shattering the Silence: The Hidden History of Indian Residential Schools in Saskatchewan The ebook, published by the University of Regina, cites federal government documents regarding student deaths and decades of sexual abuse that occurred at Gordon’s.

In 1993, a former employee pleaded guilty to charges related to the sexual assault of students on university premises between 1968 and 1984.

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Support is available to anyone affected by their residential school experiences, as well as those who have been moved by the latest news.

A national Indian residential school crisis line has been established to provide support to survivors and those affected by the tragedy. You can access emotional and crisis support services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419. The Saskatchewan-based line is now available at 306-522-7494.