Searching for the Graves of Canada’s Indigenous Children

The New York Times

Thousands of mostly indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attend residential schools between the 19th century and the 1990s. (photo: Reuters) 22 October 21

For more than a century, Indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend residential schools, where many endured sexual and physical abuse. Thousands were never seen again. We followed a team of archaeologists who came to the Muskowekwan First Nation to search for the graves of these lost children. Based on historical documents and interviews with survivors, researchers said they expected to find more than 80 unmarked graves.

In this video, we embedded with a group of archeologists who, using ground-penetrating radar technology, can get a detailed look of disturbances in the ground. They’re looking for shallow pits of about 1 meter in length when looking for the unmarked graves of children.

Their research is helping prove what residential school survivors have long talked about, but were often ignored outside their communities.

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