'Most horrific': Alberta First Nation investigating after remains of children found
Warning: This story contains disturbing details.
Saddle Lake Cree Nation in eastern Alberta is "actively researching and investigating" the deaths of at least 200 residential school children who never came home, as remains are being found in unmarked grave sites.
"It was one of the most horrific residential schools in Canada," Eric Large, from the Acimowin Opaspiw Society, told reporters in Edmonton on Tuesday.
Large started combing through burial records in February related to the Blue Quills Indian Residential School, which was based near St. Paul, Alta.
He believes he's found documents for 215 students who died between the ages of 6-11, but whose remains are still unaccounted for.
"The amount of missing children is extensive...The institution was strife with violence, illness, starvation, abuse and death," said Large, who attended a residential school himself.
Some of the records that Large obtained are from the Catholic church. He said there are 12,000 nation members, and each family had accounts of four or five children who disappeared.
"We have also been collecting witness statements from members in our nation to try and piece together a complex puzzle in regards to our missing children who never came home," Large said.
A councillor in Saddle Lake said he has accidentally recovered bones of several children, while attempting to dig new graves in the local Sacred Heart Cemetery.
"There were children's sized skeleton remains that were excavated. None of these skeletal remains were in caskets, none of the graves had markings of any sort," Jason Whiskeyjack explained.
"I came across a small ribcage attached to a spine...and then more infilling, came across a small skull," he recalled. "When I hit a lot of these graves there's no supports for us."
Whiskeyjack called on the federal government to provide the Saddle Lake with funding for radar equipment to investigate further. He also wants a community wellness plan to be created to assist members experiencing renewed trauma.
In February, a Cree woman launched her own effort to mark graves in Saddle Lake by selling moccasins for charity.
The issue of unmarked graves around residential schools triggered international mourning last May, after a First Nation near Kamloops B.C. announced that ground-penetrating radar suggests about 200 children are buried near their former school.
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free line at 1-800-721-0066.
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.