Anderson Cooper features U of A department in 60 Minutes segment on residential schools

(Source: 60 Minutes)

The work of a University of Alberta department is receiving some international attention after being featured in a segment on 60 Minutes.

On Sunday, Anderson Cooper focused on Canada’s residential schools and the uncovering of unmarked grave sites.

The story was done through the eyes of survivors and members of Indigenous communities.

The Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology at the U of A was part of that feature, highlighting the work it has been doing to help communities find grave sites across Canada.

“I was very pleased with how things were represented in terms of the work that’s ongoing and the need for continued attention to the impacts the residential school system has had and continues to have on Indigeous peoples today,” Kisha Supernant, the director of the institute, said.

According to Supernant, centering the story around survivors lets people hear the “hard truth,” which helps forge a path toward building a brighter future for Indigeonous communities.

Supernant detailed the experience of working with Anderson Cooper as impactful.

“It was an honour,” she explained. “Very humbled to be able to tell this story and bring attention that is needed.”

“To be out there with someone like Anderson who was looking to tell the story and involving him in our process of how we do work was really quite surreal, but it was also really meaningful because it’s finally getting the attention it has long deserved.”

For more information on the work being done at the U of A, click here.