(George Gordon First Nation/Facebook)

By CKOM News

Search on George Gordon First Nation finds 14 ‘possible burials’

Apr 20, 2022 | 4:00 PM

The George Gordon First Nation said Wednesday a search near the site of a former residential school has located 14 “possible burials.”

During a media conference on the First Nation about 120 kilometres north of Regina, Chief Byron Bitternose said a firm was hired in October to do three searches using ground-penetrating radar near the former site of Gordon’s Indian Residential School.

Bitternose said after hearing stories from residential school survivors and descendants of former members of the community, four areas were identified as areas of interest.

“It is with a heavy heart that the results of the first search indicate an area of high probability,” Bitternose told reporters. “In this area, it is determined through the data that we have located 14 possible burials.

“In the upcoming months, this area will be a priority area for continued searching. It is my hope that one day we’ll be able to tell our children the whole story, what their great-grandparents, grandparents, parents and siblings endured.”

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According to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Anglican Church of Canada opened a day school on the reserve near Punnichy in 1876. In 1888, the school was expanded to house students who attended the school.

In 1929, the school was destroyed by fire, but it was rebuilt and remained in operation until 1996.

Sarah Longman — a member of the First Nation and the chair of the George Gordon First Nation IRS Cemetery Committee — told reporters there’s a “high probability” that the targets detected by the radar are unmarked graves based on what has happened in other First Nations communities.

First Nations across the country have conducted searches using ground-penetrating radar to find unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools.

In June of last year, a search on the Cowessess First Nation found 751 unmarked graves where the Marieval Indian Residential School used to be.

In February of this year, the Keeseekoose First Nation announced 54 unmarked graves had been found on the sites of two former residential schools.

Longman said the results of the search will be difficult for some to hear.

“Many people will be hearing (the news for) the first time today, so at this point we’re not sure yet (what the impact will be),” she said. “But we can only imagine that it’s going to have a great impact on many people — and not only our community but the folks who attended the school who live in other communities and other provinces will be impacted by this news today.”