Wauzhushk Onigum receives 'long overdue' $3M to search for unmarked burials at former residential schools

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

The chief of Wauzhushk Onigum says elders in the northwestern Ontario First Nation have been telling stories for decades about unmarked graves and the children who never came home from St. Mary's Indian Residential School.

"It's time to listen to their stories and educate non-Indigenous Canada, educate the world on what happened to our people," Chief Chris Skead told CBC News.

He hopes the $2.9 million in funding announced Thursday by the federal and provincial governments will help the First Nation find "the entire truth."

The funding came on the heels of a $321-million announcement by Ottawa to help Indigenous communities search burial sites at former residential schools, and support survivors and their families.

"What we're doing here is long overdue. It is time to begin the journey of healing together," Skead added.

St. Mary's impact on students in TRC report

St. Mary's Indian Residential School was operated by the Roman Catholic Church from 1897 to 1972 in Kenora. 

The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) describes the school as an overcrowded building with serious sewage treatment problems and fire hazards that affected the well-being of students. Students were also subjected to harsh punishment, including reports that the principal would lock students in cupboards, outhouses and the basement as punishment in the 1920s, the report say.

Do you know of a child who never came home from residential school? Or know someone who worked at one? We would like to hear from you. Email our Indigenous-led team investigating the impacts of residential schools at: wherearethey@cbc.ca or call toll-free: 1-833-824-0800.

In 1970, two 12-year-old boys — Philip Swain and Roderick Keesick — died trying to reach their home at Grassy Narrows, 90 kilometres north of Kenora. Their deaths were the subject of a coroner's inquest, and led to the first national instruction that clearly set out measures to be taken by principals when students ran away from schools, "a century too late, at the same time that the residential school system was being slowly shut down," according to the TRC.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) says at least 36 students died while attending the school.

Today, the land around St. Mary's residential school has been partially redeveloped as the Devil's Gap Marina, with a parking lot now occupying the site of the former school, according to a technical report for the NCTR.

There is a cemetery associated with the school that is documented in photographs from the early 20th century, but its location has not yet been identified, according to the report.

It's an example of the many challenges that come with searching for unmarked burial sites for residential schools that were established in major centres and became enclosed by urban development throughout the decades, the report says.

Search to be 'survivor driven'

While the funding is being provided over a three-year period, Skead said the First Nation doesn't have a timeframe to search for the unmarked burials and honour their missing children.

"This is survivor driven, and they will be the ones to dictate how we're going to approach that."

There are 51 St. Mary's school survivors in Wauzhushk Onigum, Skead said, but the legacy of the residential school is intergenerational, and the findings from this work will affect the entire First Nation, as well as other First Nations whose children were forced to attend St. Mary's.

"I'm still kind of reeling with it to this day with emotion — you know, there's sadness, there's anger, I am perplexed at times," he said, as a fifth-generation survivor of residential schools. "But at the end of the day, we have ceremonies, and protocols, and our beautiful language and culture that still guides us."

The chief adds the first step will be to gather survivors together, and create space and support for them to tell their stories and discuss how to move forward.

"Most importantly, we need to take our time and do this right," Skead said.

Support is available for anyone affected by the lingering effects of residential schools and those triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.