A British Columbia First Nation has announced the grim discovery of 93 potential burial sites on the grounds of a former residential school.
According to the Williams Lake First Nation, a recent geophysical survey, which included ground-penetrating radar, revealed the existence of the potential graves.
“For decades there were reports of neglect and abuse at the St. Joseph’s Mission, and worse, there were reports of children dying or disappearing from the facility,” Williams Lake First Nation Chief Willie Sellars said at an emotional press conference Tuesday afternoon. “For the bulk of St. Joseph’s Mission’s history, these reports were at best given no credence.”
Located in B.C.’s central interior, the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School operated near Williams Lake between 1886 and 1981. It has since largely been demolished.
The findings from the school are considered preliminary, and more information is expected as the investigation continues. So far, only 14 ouxjmtzywt of 470 hectares on the sprawling property have been searched. Sellars also noted that their investigation uncovered evidence of children’s bodies being disposed of in lakes, rivers and the school’s incinerator.
“This journey has led our investigation team into the darkest recesses of human behaviour,” Sellars said. “Our team has recorded not only stories regarding the murder and disappearance of children and infants, they have listened to countless stories of systematic torture, starvation, rape and sexual assault of children at St. Joseph’s Mission.”
The Williams Lake investigation follows the gruesome May 2021 discovery of more than 200 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Since then, similar searches have resulted in the shocking discoveries of hundreds of children’s remains across Canada.
