66 More Potential Graves Identified at Former Williams Lake, BC Residential School




the canadian press



Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2023 6:12 pm EST





Last updated Wednesday, January 25, 2023 7:25 pm EST

WILLIAMS LAKE, BC – Investigation of unmarked graves in an ancient Residential school near Williams Lake First Nation in central British Columbia discovered that crimes against children were committed, the lead investigator said at a news conference.

Whitney Spearing said the second phase of her work identified 66 “reflections,” adding to the initial 93 potential graves already detected at the site of the former Catholic-run Mission St. Joseph.

Children from dozens of First Nations attended the schoolwhich operated between 1886 and 1981.

In addition to reflections identified in technical surveys, Spearing said interviews with survivors and archival searches revealed it is “clear” that babies born as a result of child sexual assault at the mission were cremated.

Spearing said her work, which involved searches of government, church and police archives, found that “a minimum” of 28 children died there, many buried in unmarked graves at the site about 500 kilometers northeast of Vancouver.

The investigation also involved an interview with a former teacher at the institution, he added, noting that person was located in Bangkok, Thailand.

Spearing concluded her remarks Wednesday by saying that it “must be emphasized” that no amount of geophysical investigation could provide evidence of human presence. remains for sure.

“Excavation is the only technique that will provide answers as to whether humans remains they are present in the reflections of Mission San José,” he 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 the 782 hectares requiring investigation have so far undergone geophysical analysis, and 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 a possible exhumation is a “scary thought.”

“But by working together, I’m sure we can help each other.”

The purpose of the investigation is to “bring out the truth,” Sellars said.

The history of the mission and the land that surrounds it is “very dark,” he said, and evidence of “horror and suffering” is “growing every day” through investigation.

Some Canadians question the legitimacy of the investigation of their community and others underway in the former Residential institutions across the country, he added.

“For 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 manner,” Sellars said.

Phyllis Webstad, founder of the Orange Shirt Society, which works to honor survivors and children who never returned home from Residential schools, issued a statement in response to the announcement.

“How do we prepare for news that confirms what we know to be true?” said Webstad, who attended the school as student.

“We as survivors have had to sit with this truth our entire lives and now finally the rest of the world is waking up to these truths as well.”

The prime minister visited the Williams Lake First Nation and the site of the former institution last spring as the community honored the survivors and children who never returned home of what Justin Trudeau described as “that so-called school.”

He said his government pledged to share all the information it could find about the institution “to allow healing, to allow closure, and to allow us to move forward with a full understanding of what the terrible truth of our history is.”

The investigation at St. Joseph’s came after ground penetrating radar located what is believed to be more than 200 graves in an ancient Residential school in Kamloops, BC, in May 2021, prompting similar searches and finds in several provinces.

The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which documented the experiences of those affected by Canada Residential school system, found that at least 4,100 children died while attending institutions.

The Indian Residential SchoolThe Resolution Health Support program has a hotline to help Residential school survivors and their families suffering traumas invoked by the memory of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on January 25, 2023.


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