Opaskwayak Cree Nation says it's found evidence of unmarked burials at former residential school site

Opaskwayak Cree Nation says it's found evidence of unmarked burials on the grounds of a former residential school in northern Manitoba.

A three-day search using K9 human remains detection dogs has indicated six areas of interest at the former site of the McKay residential school in Fisher Island, about 10 kilometres north from Opaskwayak and 11 from The Pas. OCN said in a release Friday the areas may hold multiple burials which were left undocumented.

The finding comes more than three years after the community began preparations for the search, with efforts coming to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Coun. Edwin Jebb, who has been on working on the search since the beginning, it was an emotional few days.

"It did affect me when I'd seen the dogs at work," he said. "Running around sniffing and all of a sudden they got excited and they started barking: I knew they'd found something. That's when it really hit me."

The McKay residential school — sometimes spelled MacKay — operated on Fisher Island from 1914 until 1933, when a fire destroyed it. It was rebuilt in Dauphin more than two decades later, where it remained open until 1969.

Children from Mosakahiken, Chemawawin, Tataskweyak, York Factory, Nisichawayasihk, Peter Ballantyne, Norway House, Cumberland House, and Opaskwayak attended the school when it was near The Pas.

Jebb, whose father went to McKay in the '20s and who is a residential school survivor himself, said his whole community is going through mixed emotions.

"They're kind of sad, [but] they're kind of happy that we found them because there's always a thing that children want to be found," he said.

"All of a sudden the reality hits you: There's something there.… There's a trigger that hits you, and it hits you hard."

Radar search next spring

The dogs, trained to find remains, came from Saskatchewan. Chief Maureen Brown said they're highly trained, and have nearly perfect accuracy finding remains.

"One thing that is very important for our people, First Nation people, is the validation of our stories," she said. "Having our stories validated, and being able to begin the process of coming to terms, because that happened on our lands."

The plan is to confirm the findings with ground-penetrating radar, which is expected to happen in the spring.

Chief Brown said to do that, they'll have to clear the area this fall, as it was overgrown.

In the meantime, the chief said research on the children that went missing during that period of time will take place.

"Hopefully, out of the communities that will be visited, the stories will come out, and we'll be able to find closure for those families who have lost loved ones," Brown said.

Coun. Jebb said after all is done, OCN will have to discuss as a community what will happen next.

"The thing is do we disturb what's down there or just leave it? Most of the elders say leave it, don't be so intrusive," he said. 

"It hits differently when it's your community," Brown said. "When you hear of the searches in other communities, you're far removed although you are connected because they're your brothers and sisters.… But when it hits you and it's your own community, it's very devastating."