Global Courant
WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.
The excavation of potential unmarked graves near a former residential school is the next step in a journey of trauma and healing, members of a Manitoba First Nation say.
Minegoziibe Anishinabe, also known as Pine Creek First Nation, teamed up with researchers at Brandon University to excavate 14 anomalies found in the basement of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church last year using ground-penetrating radar. The church stands next to the former Pine Creek Residential School.
Nation member Brenda Catcheway has been part of the search for unmarked graves since the beginning. She says the search is part of the story of Minegoziibe Anishinabe, about 200 miles northwest of Winnipeg, because the residential school has left traumas that have lasted for generations.
“I’m just happy with the stage we’re at and happy to be here to complete it,” said Catcheway.
Ground-penetrating radar detected 14 anomalies in the basement of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)
She was on the church grounds Monday to update the community on the ongoing search. Her focus has been on sharing information about the dig while ensuring the well-being of the community as the investigation continues.
Catcheway says excavations will begin Wednesday and will take a month to complete.
If unmarked graves are found, the remains are identified using radiocarbon dating, DNA testing and the school’s student registry.
Generations of survivors
Catcheway’s grandmother and mother were sent to residential school and she attended the nearby day school.
Her grandmother was concerned about sending Catcheway to the facility because of the horrors she faced at the residential school, Catcheway said. She fought to keep Catcheway out of day school as long as possible so that she would be old enough “to protect herself.”
Minegoziibe Anishinabe Nation members walk past orange flags marking anomalies found in the basement of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)
“She would share stories with me,” Catcheway said. “I used to think she told me scary stories, but I think we’re coming to the truth that she told me real stories.”
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools in Canada.
The Pine Creek school was run by the Roman Catholic Church which operated from 1890 to 1969 in several buildings, including the church, on a large tract of land.
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation has a record of 21 child deaths at the school, and survivors have long spoken of abuse at the facility.
The community’s initial search found 57 additional anomalies in the area around the church and residential school.
However, the first excavation will focus on the basement of the church.
Growing up stories
Minegoziibe Anishinabe Nation member Will Charbonneau grew up in an elementary school next to the former Pine Creek residential school for a decade.
He says that as children they would hear horror stories about their parents’ residential school.
“All the front classrooms had a view of the church, so you’d sit there every day watching ‘there are ghosts in the church,'” Charbonneau said. “We saw it and heard about it every day. We grew up with it.”
Minegoziibe Anishinabe Nation member Will Charbonneau is part of the team excavating the church’s basement. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)
Charbonneau says he gets a sense of empowerment when he sees his mother and his grandparents survive Pine Creek day and residential schools. This motivated him to be part of the project, he said, to bring the kids home and help people heal.
He began helping map and excavate the church’s basement on Monday. Charbonneau says it’s a difficult journey because each marker is a reminder of children whose stories have been lost.
Keep the community informed
Emily Holland, a forensic anthropologist at Brandon University, says investigators are consulting closely to see what the community wants and make sure they are proceeding in a culturally appropriate manner.
“The work we’re doing is quite sensitive and if there are individuals in these reflections (anomalies) and they’re basically graves, then that’s very hard for the community to consider,” Holland said.
Brenda Catcheway, left, and Brandon University forensic anthropologist Emily Holland provide a community update. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)
Holland has a team consisting of two search supervisors, students from Brandon University and locals like Charbonneau who help investigate the church basement.
She says local knowledge will be key over the next month as they begin digging up the anomalies.
“They know where the residential school was, they know who went … they know everything about their community,” Holland said.
During the community update, children played and sang drum songs – something that would not have been possible when the residential school was open.
Charbonneau says these moments of cultural celebration are part of community recovery.
Kids Drum opens a community update on the Minegoziibe Anishinabe quest for unmarked graves. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)
“I’m sure if there are kids here today that are happy to see that kids of our generation can do the things that couldn’t,” said Charbonneau.
Watching young children’s drummers was emotional, Catcheway said, because it’s something she wishes she had growing up.
Elders said to her, “Those children in the basement must hear the drum and they must hear children playing and so they will hear it.
“We’re trying to get back to who we are,” she said.
A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide assistance to survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.
Mental health counseling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or through online chat.
