‘Traits consistent with burials’ found at former residential school near Edmonton

Nineteen anomalies have been found using ground-penetrating radar during a search for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school northeast of Edmonton.

Initial findings from the search at Blue Quills residential school released today describe the anomalies as reflections of interest, meaning they have traits consistent with burials but more analysis is needed.

The report says the findings provide a starting point but it will be a long journey to find answers around what happened to the children who never came home from the school.

The Blue Quills residential school was started by Roman Catholic missionaries in Lac La Biche but later moved to the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and was relocated again in 1931 to St. Paul.

In 1970, parents of children at the Blue Quills school occupied the institution and demanded its operation be turned over to the First Nation.

A report released earlier this year from an unrelated group found unpasteurized milk was responsible for the deaths of Indigenous children at the same institution.