Saskatchewan

American broadcaster Anderson Cooper filming segment in Sask. on unmarked graves

A statement from Cowessess First Nation confirmed that well-known American broadcaster Anderson Cooper was filming a segment about the unmarked graves discovered in 2021 for CBS 60 Minutes.

Cowessess First Nation unable to release photos of interaction with Cooper, says community

Cowessess First Nation used ground penetrating radar work to aid the community in locating more unmarked gravesites, Chief Cadmus Delorme told CBC News earlier in 2021. (Submitted by Cowessess First Nation)

A well-known American broadcaster visited Cowessess First Nation over the long weekend to film a segment on the unmarked graves found near the community. 

Cowessess First Nation confirmed that Anderson Cooper, the prolific journalist and current anchor of a global CNN newscast was on-site, along with crew and producers for CBS 60 minutes.

CBS 60 Minutes is a broadcast program that focuses on investigative reports, profiles of people and feature segments, according to a description on the CBS website.

They were there to cover the unmarked graves located near Marieval Indian Residential School located about 140 km east of Regina.

"While many of us took photos with Anderson Cooper yesterday, their producers have asked Cowessess to refrain from posting any photos until the segment airs sometime in December 2021 or January 2022," Cowesses said in a post on their Facebook page. 

Anderson Cooper posted a photo of himself with the caption "Saskatchewan!" over the weekend. (Anderson Cooper/Instagram)

The Cowessess First Nation announced a preliminary finding of 751 unmarked graves at the former residential school, where Cowessess is now located, in June.

That discovery followed a search using ground-penetrating radar of about 44,000 square meters by technical teams from Saskatchewan Polytechnic, according to Chief Cadmus Delorme.

Both Delorme and Cooper's representatives declined to comment on the visit.