St. Therese Indian Residential School stood in Sturgeon Landing from 1926-52. (University of Regina Archives/file photo)

By paNOW Staff

Searching the Site

PBCN begins ground penetrating radar search of former residential school site in Sturgeon Landing

Oct 2, 2023 | 4:53 PM

A historical moment took place in Sturgeon Landing on Friday.

Elders, survivors, and community members of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) gathered together in ceremony to launch an official ground penetrating radar search at the former site of St. Therese Indian Residential School.

“I am grateful to host this gathering in our community on National Truth and Reconciliation Day,” said Sturgeon Landing PBCN Councillor, Allan Michel. “Being here together in our community at St. Therese Residential School is a reminder of the traumatic experiences that generations of our First Nations children faced. Now we can start to heal.”

The original location of the school at Sturgeon Landing was destroyed in a devastating fire before it was temporarily moved to The Pas, Manitoba, and finally relocated to a site an hour away in Clearwater Lake, Manitoba. When the school permanently closed in 1979, it had been renamed to the Guy Hill Indian Residential School.

In 2007, Gary Merasty, former Member of Parliament for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River and member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, introduced a motion into the House of Commons. The motion called for the House to “apologize to the survivors of the Indian Residential Schools for the trauma they suffered as a result of the policies intended to assimilate First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children, causing the loss of aboriginal culture, heritage, and language, while also leaving a sad legacy of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.”

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The motion was passed unanimously, 257-0.

“Every search is an important step in the healing journey of our First Nations communities, but Friday was an especially historic day,” Merasty said. “I’ve worked tirelessly to ensure acknowledgement of the impact of Residential Schools on our people and I was proud to be in ceremony with Elders and Survivors as we started the long overdue first step in our journey to help bring our little warriors home and bring closure to our families.”

The Nation called upon Saskatchewan Polytechnic to develop a plan to conduct the physical search.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com