A residential school survivor group says it’s expressing relief that, so far, no burial sites have been found during an initial search of a former Shingwauk Indian Residential School site in northern Ontario. However, the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association acknowledges its work is far from complete, with vast areas of the property still to be searched.
The process began in early 2021, when community consultations and archival research began ahead of a search for unknown graves on the former school site. Ground penetrating radar was used to search the grounds in front of what is now Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie.
“It was quite difficult, it was very, very tiring,” said George Diamond, president of the association. “It was a long process to do, but we feel that we’re very, very fortunate that we didn’t find any unknown burial sites as of now. But, we still have quite a bit of work to do in the future. There’s still a big area to cover.”
Diamond said it has been known for some time that a number of children died while attending the Shingwauk school and are buried nearby.
“We have a cemetery here and all the children that are buried there are in unmarked graves,” he said. “That’s an issue that we have to try to deal with. There are 109 known graves (and) 73 children died between 1875 to 1956.”
According to the association, some of the graves at the cemetery belong to church officials who worked at the school. Ground penetrating radar did initially find some anomalies, however, upon further investigation, determined they were not burial sites.
Diamond said there were many partners helping with the search and the association wants to continue working with them.
“I’d like to thank all the workers that did the work, and also working with our partners such as Algoma University and the First Nation of Batchewana and the First Nation of Garden River,” he said. “We want to continue that partnership, we want to continue working together on that into the future.”
The next phase in the search will begin this summer, followed by another search in the fall. Those searches will focus on areas behind Algoma University.
The complete report as well as other information on the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association can be found on its website.
According to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the school opened in 1873 and operated in several locations. It eventually settled in Sault Ste Marie and was shuttered in 1970 by the federal government.
