WARNING: This story contains details of experiences at residential schools.
A First Nation in north-central British Columbia says it has discovered several potential unmarked graves on the grounds of a residential school, following the use of ground-penetrating radar.
The Nadleh Whut’en First Nation announced the preliminary findings of an ongoing search of the grounds of the Lejac Indian Residential School on Saturday afternoon.
The First Nation has always known children were buried at the church-run institution because many of their graves were marked in a cemetery that had been there since 1922, when the school opened. However, the survey’s findings suggest a number of unmarked graves as well, said Nadleh Whut’en Chief Beverly Ketlo at a news conference.
“We have information today that shows that there are likely grave sites in the location of the Lejac school,” she said.
“We knew there were more children there, we just didn’t know where. How many — and this is a question I ask everybody I meet — how many of the schools you attended had graveyards in the backyard?”
The survey did not positively identify any unmarked graves, but indicated “23 markers” of potential burial locations, she said.
An estimated 7,850 Indigenous children were forced to attend the residential school, which operated about 140 kilometres west of Prince George, B.C., from 1922 until 1976, according to the nation.
The nation’s Saturday announcement is the latest of several by First Nations across Canada as they take up the task of surveying the sites of former residential schools to search for thousands of children who went missing or died at the church-run institutions.
In a statement, Nadleh Whut’en said its search is being led by residential school survivors under the project name “Nez Keh Hubuk’uznootah,” which means “Let’s look for our children” in the Dakelh language.
“The abuses endured at Lejac and other Indian Residential Schools are not just a thing of the past,” Ketlo said in a statement.
“The horrors experienced at Lejac are still very real for the survivors who lived through this genocide. Hundreds of people have died as adults due to the trauma they experienced there.”
Former chief Archie Patrick, who attended the Lejac school as a young boy, said the students were forced to work as labourers, doing heavy farm work while being denied the dietary benefits of the food they helped produce.
“Essentially, it was a jail for children in which you worked without pay to pay for your own brainwashing.”
Daybreak North8:10First Nations searching former residential school site for possible unmarked graves
Over 7,000 children attended Lejac Indian Residential School between 1922 and 1976.
The nation says there will be further geophysical surveys conducted in consultation with survivors in the years to come.
Ground-penetrating radar is among a series of methods being used to search the grounds of former residential schools. The tool does not identify human remains, but instead looks for anomalies in the soil.
Nadleh Whut’en says its search using the technology began in late 2023. Unlike many other residential schools, Lejac featured a cemetery next to the school .
The First Nation says its survey looked at parts of the grounds that survivors identified, and over 142,500 square metres of ground was searched. It says that matching the survey results with archival records showed a number of potential unmarked graves.
Children from 70 nations attended
Ketlo told CBC News earlier this year that plans to search the Lejac grounds got underway after the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced that ground-penetrating radar had detected about 200 potential burial sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in 2021.
“The impact of that announcement sent a shock wave through all the First Nations communities,” Ketlo told CBC’s Daybreak North host Carolina De Ryk in May.
“Our nation has a long history of trauma associated with the Lejac Indian Residential School and we carry a heavy burden in stewarding this site, since children from over 70 nations attended the institution.”
The school made national headlines in 1937 when four boys — a nine-year-old, an eight-year-old and two seven-year-olds — were found dead, their bodies frozen, after they ran away and tried to cross nearby Fraser Lake.
Nadleh Whut’en says its data was verified by two independent analysts, and also included the use of magnetometry technology to detect conductive metal objects beneath the ground.
There is no immediate desire to excavate or exhume the ground where the potential unmarked graves were identified, according to the nation, and it says its team led by residential school survivors would provide input on the next steps in the project.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation estimates about 4,100 children died at residential schools, based on death records, but has said the true total is likely much higher.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission said large numbers of Indigenous children who were forcibly sent to residential schools never returned home.
A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.
Mental health counselling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.