CBC: '182 unmarked graves discovered near residential school in B.C.'s Interior, First Nation says'

St. Eugene's Mission School in Cranbrook, B.C., was operated by the Catholic Church from 1912 until the early 1970s. The building has since been converted into a resort and casino, with an adjacent golf course. (St. Eugene Mission Resort/The Associated Press)

182 unmarked graves discovered near residential school in B.C.'s Interior, First Nation says

Warning: This story contains distressing details.

Ground-penetrating radar was used to conduct a search near St. Eugene's Mission School, says Lower Kootenay Band

Alex Migdal. CBC News · Posted: Jun 30, 2021 10:07 AM PT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

A First Nation in B.C.'s South Interior says 182 unmarked grave sites have been discovered near the location of a former residential school.

The community of ʔaq'am, one of four bands in the Ktunaxa Nation and located near the city of Cranbrook, B.C., used ground-penetrating radar to search a site close to the former St. Eugene's Mission School, the Lower Kootenay Band announced Wednesday.


According to the band, the findings indicated the graves were shallow, about a metre deep.

"You can never fully prepare for something like this," said Chief Jason Louie of the Lower Kootenay Band, which is also a member of the Ktunaxa Nation.


The finding adds to the growing tally of unmarked burial sites discovered near residential schools across Canada in the past month, including 215 in Kamloops and 751 in Saskatchewan.

St. Eugene's Mission School was operated by the Catholic Church from 1912 until the early 1970s. The building has since been converted into a resort and casino, with an adjacent golf course.

The Lower Kootenay Band says up to 100 of its members were forced to attend the school.

"It is believed that the remains of these 182 souls are from the member Bands of the Ktunaxa Nation, neighboring First Nations communities, and the community of ʔaq'am," read a media release from the band.

'It's very difficult'

Louie said the nation's leadership met with residential school survivors in the community before announcing the discovery and referred them to support.

"It's very difficult," he said. "It was very impactful when we got the news of the 215 souls that were located in Kamloops. And now it's very, very personal."

The band says it is in the early stages of learning about the report's findings and will more provide more updates.

Louie said he received an email last week from Chief Joe Pierre Jr. of the ʔaq'am community stating a survey of the grounds had started in 2020.

"I did not know this work was being done," Louie said. "We do have an understanding and I have spoken with Chief Joe that we're going to improve the lines of communication."

Pierre said the ʔaq'am band would provide more details in a release later on Wednesday.

Louie said he wants the Catholic Church to be held legally accountable for operating the schools.


Survivor shares stories from church-run residential school St. Eugene’s in B.C.




'All I want to do is let the truth be known, some of the horrors that happened,’ says Jack Kruger, in the article by Athena Bonneau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter at The Discourse. 

Jack Kruger, a survivor of St. Eugene School, said he was forced to attend the school at the age of six. When he arrived, he spoke his own language, and was backhanded. At night, the priest would sexually abuse the children.

“My best friend in residential school hung himself because of the sexual abuse he experienced,” Jack says. “I went after the priest for sexually abusing my friend.”

As punishment for attacking the priest, Jack says he was thrown into a little storage room full of broken equipment, physically abused by the priest and kept there for two weeks, without food or water.

“I seen many residential school survivors were thrown down the stairs, hung by our ears,” he says. “They would give us a needle and put drugs in us to see how it worked."

"We were robbed of future elders," he said.

"Those children, if they had not passed away, could have been elders and teachers in our communities, the keepers of knowledge. It's devastating."

Read Jack's full story at The Discourse, June 21, 2021:
https://thediscourse.ca/okanagan/residential-school-survivor-shares-stories-about-st-eugenes


Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by these reports.

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