SUMMER OF SORROW
`How are we going to deal with the aftermath?' asks band councillor
A man sits and prays at the field where the remains of children were buried on the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Cowessess First Nation, Sask. More than 750 unmarked graves have been found near the former Catholic school for Indigenous children, a tribal leader said this week — the second such discovery in less than a month, casting a spotlight on a dark chapter in Canada's history.
After the heart-rending discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the former site of the Marieval Indian Residential School, other First Nations investigating nearby residential schools are bracing for their own encounters with long-buried tragedy.
Muskowekwan councillor Cynthia Desjarlais said she feels for Cowessess and every community — especially the elders who have to relive painful history.
“They're probably the ones who, possibly have known someone in the burial grounds,” she said. “You never know. That's the tragedy of the whole thing, we just don't know.”
Muscowequan Indian Residential School was run by the Roman Catholic Church, which operated the school from 1889 to 1969, when the federal government took over. A band-run education centre took it over until it closed its doors in 1997.
Like most across Canada, survivors' stories collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission told of punishment for not speaking English and efforts to run away at Muscowequan. There was also a fire in 1931.
Desjarlais worried about what comes after the searches.
“How are we going to deal with the aftermath,” she told the Leader-post, “and everything else that comes with these discoveries?”
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) has pinpointed Muskowekwan as one of its top priorities for searches, along with Onion Lake, Beauval, Guy Hill, Lebret and Sturgeon Landing. FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron has also mentioned Gordon's Indian Residential School.
The FSIN said it is not forcing any First Nation in the province to conduct searches, but the organization will be ready to assist with $4.88 million from the federal government and $2 million from the province.
At George Gordon First Nation, a task force is planning search efforts over an expansive area. The grounds of the former residential school on Gordon territory covered roughly 780 acres of land said task force member Eddie Bitternose. Among their first tasks is deciding where to start.
They already have some records of those lost while attending the school, including some who drowned or froze while running away.
The Regina Leader-post published a 1939 article about the death of Andrew Gordon, whose body was found frozen in the woods about seven miles from the school — one mile from his home.
Another document reports that “the whole school” was infected with influenza during the Spanish Flu.
The search at Gordon is more than a technical matter of logistics and radar. It's also a spiritual journey. That's why the task force is seeking pipe carriers who can reach out to the lost and “help them find a way home.”
“That would be one of our first tasks, talking to our pipe carriers and our seniors and elders of the community,” said Bitternose, who attended three separate residential schools.
Gordon's Indian Residential School was run by the Anglican Church of Canada between 1876 and 1946. The federal government took over in 1969 until the school closed in 1996, making it among the last in Canada to close.
Bitternose said the community has already endured the aftermath of a sexual abuse case, which left the community “traumatized.” William Peniston Starr, director of the residence for more than a decade, later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting 10 boys between the ages of seven and 14.
Once again, Bitternose believes the task force must pay close attention to the emotional impact of any new revelations about the history of the former residential school.