Correction
This story originally said that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated some 4,100 students died in residential schools "from disease." That number actually reflects deaths from disease and accidents. The Gazette apologizes for the error.
St. Albert’s Indigenous community called on city residents to honour the scores of students buried in unmarked graves at the city’s two residential school sites.
St. Albert residents lowered flags and raised tipis this week in recognition of the discovery of 215 students buried in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Residential School in late May.
The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced the discovery May 27. The students, the deaths of which had not been documented, were discovered using ground-penetrating radar as part of an ongoing project to document the large number of Indigenous children who died in Canada’s residential schools.
The news triggered a national outpouring of grief. Hundreds attended a vigil at the Alberta Legislature grounds May 30 for children who died in residential schools, with many leaving children’s shoes at a monument to Catholic nuns on the grounds.
Sharon Morin of Michif Cultural Connections said the discovery weighed heavily on her mind when she dropped her grandson off for daycare on May 31.
“Two-and-a-half and he could have been in one of those schools by now,” she said.
This news was heartbreaking, but not unexpected, Morin continued — Indigenous elders have talked about students being buried in unmarked graves at residential schools for years.
Hazel McKennitt, a residential school survivor and St. Albert resident, said she believed this discovery was due to the spirits of those children calling out for recognition.
“It’s time, and they have to be honoured.”
Mayor Cathy Heron directed all flags at city facilities to be lowered to half-staff for 215 hours starting at 8 a.m. May 31 in memory of the buried children. In a media statement, she said she was heartbroken when she heard the news of the discovery in Kamloops.
“The devastating impact residential schools have had on Indigenous communities across our country continues to be a source of sadness, anger, and frustration,” she said.
“Recognizing and acknowledging the terrible history of residential schools, and the role they continue to play in the lives of the Indigenous community, is a critical step in our efforts toward truth and reconciliation and a long healing process.”
Our forgotten children
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) estimates that at least 4,100 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children died in residential schools from disease or accidents — some estimates put the total at about 6,000, said former TRC commissioner Wilton Littlechild. Many of these deaths were undocumented, the children buried in unmarked graves without the consent or knowledge of their families.
Littlechild said it was the policy of most schools not to send a student’s body back to their home communities as it was cheaper to bury them locally. When a student did die, officials often didn’t keep proper records: 49 per cent of the records the commission studied had no cause of death, 32 per cent lacked a name, and 23 per cent listed no gender. School and government officials also failed to establish adequate protections for student health — another cost-saving measure — resulting in death rates in schools far in excess of the general population.
“Money was more important than the life of the child,” Littlechild said.
Poor records make it tough to tell how many students may be buried on the grounds of St. Albert’s two former residential schools. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s Student Memorial Site lists the names of nine students known to have died at the Edmonton Indian Residential School (now home to Poundmaker’s Lodge) and 44 at the Youville school on Mission Hill.
There are at least 98 known unmarked graves in and around the Poundmaker’s grounds — all part of a cemetery for Indigenous victims of tuberculosis from the Charles Camsell Hospital. Edmonton Indian Residential School students were forced to help dig graves for these victims, sometimes in the middle of the night. The names, ages, and hometowns of the victims are listed on a monument in the St. Albert Cemetery. Many were student-aged.
Call for action
Heron said she planned to organize a walk to the city’s Healing Garden once public health restrictions allow it in the wake of the Kamloops discovery. On Twitter, she called on all residents to read the city’s Payhonin Reconciliation report and to take its pledge of reconciliation.
On Facebook, Poundmaker’s Lodge officials said they had raised a tipi and lit a sacred fire as part of a ceremony to recognize the Kamloops children. They invited anyone who wished to pay their respects to leave offerings of tobacco, moccasins, or teddy bears in the lodge’s powwow arbour.
On May 31, Alberta Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson said the province would fund research into the undocumented deaths and burials of hundreds of Indigenous children in Alberta.
Morin said every residential school site in Canada likely has unmarked graves. She called on officials to do a detailed ground-penetrating radar study of the Poundmaker’s and Mission Hill grounds to find any remains.
“This is our George Floyd moment in Canada to wake up to our history,” she said, referring to the 2020 killing of an American Black man by police that triggered a national reckoning over racism in the U.S.
“These kids need to be properly honoured.”
McKennitt and Morin said racism was still rampant in Canada, as evident in the recent attacks on Indigenous Edmonton Oilers player Ethan Bear. They called on all Canadians to take a stand against racism.
“We need to be kind, and when we see people not being kind, we need to make it awkward,” Morin said, referring to the Make It Awkward anti-racism movement.
Now that we know the truth of these deaths, Littlechild said it is up to all Canadians to help advance the cause of forgiveness and reconciliation. One way to do so is to review the TRC’s Calls to Action and pick one to implement.
“It begins with each of us,” Littlechild said.
Residential school survivors in need of emotional support can call the 24/7 national crisis line at 1-866-925-4419.
