Report says at least 55 children died or disappeared at B.C. residential school

A British Columbia First Nation says it has completed the cases of 55 children who died or went missing while attending a boarding school near Williams Lake. This figure is more than three times the number registered for this institution in the National Registration and Reconciliation Center.

The higher figure is in an interim report on St. Joseph's Mission Boarding School by the Williams Lake First Nation.

The report says researchers will complete ground-penetrating radar surveys this year and hold meetings on potential excavation, exhumation, repatriation, DNA testing and genetic mapping before any decision on drilling is made.

At the moment, "no definite drilling process is planned".

The report says no confirmed human remains have been found to date, while telling skeptics there is "overwhelming evidence" that supports the legitimacy of the research being scientifically compiled.

The report released Friday concludes: "Some Canadians find it threatening or disturbing that research into boarding schools forces us to examine our colonial history and acknowledge the harm caused by the systems, policies and institutions that have been promoted in our country for generations. Let's do it."

"We point out to those Canadians that the discomfort of re-evaluating Orthodox history is an inevitable part of bringing the truth to light. It is a necessary and healthy part of our evolution and growth as a nation."

Researchers previously said two separate searches using ground-penetrating radar at the former school site had identified 159 possible unmarked graves.

This Catholic school operated from 1891 to 1981, about 500 kilometers northwest of Vancouver, and the search area is 782 hectares.

The report says the National Center for Registration and Reconciliation names 16 children who died while in the school's care.

It says an additional 39 deaths or disappearances have been confirmed through "archival documents".

The report says it obtained more than 61,000 documents and photographs in its investigation.

The school site was purchased last year by the Williams Lake First Nation with the help of the provincial government, in part to help preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation.

There are also preliminary plans to "reconceptualize the site as a place of healing," the report says.

It says the investigative team is working with the British Columbia Coroner's Service, the RCMP, the British Columbia government and others to "determine where and under what conditions potential grave digging and exhumation of human remains could occur."

It says they are working on a memorandum of understanding on "excavation, exhumation, identification and return of remains."

He says: "Currently, there is no definite process planned for drilling. Participation meetings will be held before any decision.

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