169 Potential Graves Found at Site of Former Residential Achool in Northern Alberta

The chief of a northern Alberta First Nation held back tears Tuesday as he said that the discovery of 169 potential graves at the site of a former residential school validates the horrifying testimonies survivors have been sharing, according to CBC Canada.

The possible graves were identified using ground-penetrating radar and a drone at the former Grouard Mission site, about 370 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Kisha Supernant, project lead and director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology at the University of Alberta, said the discovery supports what survivors and elders had been saying and marks the beginning of a long journey to find answers.

Searchers focused on a small parcel of land around the school, also called St. Bernard's Indian Residential School. Fifty-four potential graves were located by the church, a former nuns residence and by an old root cellar. Another 115 were identified in the community cemetery.

The residential school was opened by the Roman Catholic Church in 1894 and ran until 1961.