'It's disheartening': At least 66 more potential graves found at site of former B.C residential school
CTV
A First Nation in British Columbia has announced the discovery of at least 66 additional potential graves at the site of a former residential school where 93 were found last year.
WARNING: This story contains disturbing details
A First Nation in British Columbia has announced the discovery of at least 66 new potential graves at the site of a former residential school.
Williams Lake First Nation on Wednesday released the findings of a year-long investigation and geophysical survey of the grounds of the former St. Joseph's Mission Residential School, located about 15 kilometres south of Williams Lake, B.C.
"It's disheartening, but at the same time we are finding truth and putting together the history and legacy of what that school was and the amount of damage it did," Chief Willie Sellars told CTV National News.
The preliminary findings mark the second time anomalies have been found on the grounds of the former residential school. Last January, ground-penetrating radar, along with terrestrial LiDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) helped investigators identify 93 possible burial sites on a small segment of land. The same techniques were used in this latest investigation.
"Since then, we have been continuing to work with our technical team and contractors to search for more land abnormalities," said Sellars, who has been Williams Lake First Nation Chief since 2018. "We have also been obtaining and analyzing historic documents, while gathering the stories of our survivors."
