More than 2,000 anomalies and a child's remains were discovered during a radar search at the site of a former residential school for Indigenous members in Canada, raising concerns about the treatment of Indigenous children at the institution and sparking calls for further investigation, local media reported.
According to a report by IANS, the Star Blanket Cree Nation, a First Nations band in Saskatchewan, Canada, has found over 2,000 anomalies and a child's remains during the first phase of a ground-penetrating radar search at the site of the former Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School. The school, which operated from 1884 to 1998 in Lebret, Saskatchewan, is located approximately 80 km northeast of Regina. It is not confirmed whether the anomalies found are human remains or not, they could be stones, soil or pieces of wood. However, a jawbone fragment of a child estimated to be around five or six years old and believed to be 125 years old was also discovered, the report said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, January 12, in a statement that he was "profoundly saddened and disturbed" to learn of the findings. "Residential schools are part of the historic and ongoing racism, discrimination, and injustice that Indigenous Peoples face. We all have a responsibility to learn from our past to build a better future," Trudeau said.
The school initially opened in 1884 and according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, the school had a high death rate. After its first nine years of operation, the school claimed to have discharged 174 students, 71 of whom had died. The institution closed in 1998 after operating for 114 years, the CTV news report said.
As per information from Canada's National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's Memorial Register. As of May 24, 2022, the register has 4,130 confirmed names of children who died while at Indigenous Residential Schools.
