Cowessess First Nation working with Church to complete identification of 751 unmarked graves
CTV
Since the discovery of 751 unmarked graves at a former residential school site in June, members of Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan have been committed to the painful work of identifying each victim.
So far, 300 have been identified near the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School.
"[It's a] validation of the pain, frustration, the anger, the tiredness of remaining Indigenous in a country that still tries to oppress," Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme told INTV.
In partnership with the Roman Catholic Church, a Cowessess research team is currently in Saint Boniface, Man. where most of the Marieval school records are being kept, attempting to piece together a timeline of students and staff who entered the institution and when they left.
"Ultimately the names to get to the unmarked graves is the end goal," Delorme said.