Globe and Mail – The Kapawe’no First Nation in northern Alberta announced on Tuesday the discovery of 169 potential unmarked graves on the former grounds of the St. Bernard’s Indian Residential School (1894-1961), another in a growing number of school burial sites.

Kapawe’no First Nation, located near High Prairie, about 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, worked with the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology at the University of Alberta and used ground-penetrating radar and a specialized drone to help identify anomalies that have traits associated with graves. The search area was determined after reviewing the testimonies of residential-school survivors.

Kapawe’no First Nation searched one acre of land around the St. Bernard’s school over six days. In the first of three phases in the search, they identified 169 potential graves. Of those, 115 were found inside the existing community cemetery, some with no grave markers, while 54 potential graves were located in other areas around the school property.

Kisha Supernant, director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, says that they do not need ground-penetrating radar results to prove that students did not come home from this school – or that survivors are telling the truth. Extensive archival records contain clear information about children dying in residence there.

“Survivor’s oral history is always backed up by the science,” Dr. Supernant said.

Parish records indicate that children who were believed to have died at the school were buried at the community cemetery, but those potential graves are not specifically marked, and no plot maps have been located.