Neil Sasakamoose, CEO of the BATC, speaks to reporters on June 10, 2021. (Brady Lang/650 CKOM)

By Brady Lang/650 CKOM Staff

Battlefords-area residential schools to get ground searches pro bono from SNC Lavalin

Jun 11, 2021 | 12:37 PM

Even Neil Sasakamoose didn’t know what his father went through at residential schools.

His father, of course, was Indigenous hockey legend Fred Sasakamoose.

It wasn’t until Neil read Fred’s book — released posthumously by the former Chicago Blackhawks player — that he saw the horrors of residential school.

Now the CEO of the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC), Neil Sasakamoose is in a position to make a change of his own. He said the BATC has had organizations reach out to do ground searches for unmarked graves at residential schools, but the companies were looking for profit.

“It’s unfortunate that companies are trying to make an effort to get federal funds here, to profiteer off it. I can’t condone it. I can’t support it. Our Elders have been very, very strict with it,” Sasakamoose said.

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Then the BATC got a call from SNC Lavalin to do the searches, pro bono. It’s something the Elders approved, along with Sasakamoose.

“I can’t say enough,” he said. “We’re preparing ourselves. The people are preparing themselves. Our Elders are preparing themselves to see what’s uncovered.”

Sasakamoose said the family is connected to the Kamloops Indian Band, and the news of the 215 children found in unmarked graves at the residential school there hit hard.

Fred is the honorary chief of the band, and Sasakamoose’s extended family is there.

“You try to grasp words that are not hurtful or painful to other people,” Neil said. “You’re very careful how you select words when you talk about the Kamloops Indian Band and the residential school kids.”

Sasakamoose said every Monday at 9 a.m., a group of Elders that are all residential school survivors meets with the BATC. They had a conversation about a Delmas-area residential school, along with the Battlefords Industrial residential school to see what to do with the lands.

The two schools will get swept by SNC Lavalin beginning in the first week of July, according to Sasakamoose.

Sasakamoose also went in depth on how the bodies of the children within the two residential schools were moved over the years, but SNC will be committing to do a full sweep of the area.

“They felt it was a corporate responsibility. It was in everyone’s best interest just to find out how many bodies are there, and who are they. (We’re) trying to connect the names to the bodies, just like what’s happening in Kamloops,” he explained.

“We’re going to move forward with it. It will be very tough.”

Sasakamoose said in discussions with SNC Lavalin, the company has come out with a program to take a look at all residential school sites across Canada.