From left, search committee chair Sarah Longman, Chief Shawn Longman, and councillor Joseph McNab announced the findings at the old gym that was attached to Gordon’s Indian Residential School on Sept. 27, 2024. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

By CKOM News - Daniel Reech

Unmarked Graves

Eight potential graves found near site of former George Gordon First Nation residential school

Sep 28, 2024 | 11:02 AM

From inside an old gym that was once attached to a residential school, George Gordon First Nation made a grim announcement on Friday that was felt deeply throughout the community.

The Saskatchewan First Nation announced the finding of eight potential unmarked graves near the former Gordon’s Indian Residential School.

“This recent discovery deepens our collective grief and strengthens our resolve to continue the search for truth and justice for all those affected,” said Chief Shawn Longman.

The findings were from the latest phase of a search that began in 2021. The geophysical search identified eight anomalies consistent with the size, shape, depth and pattern of graves or burials.

The results of the first phase of the survey were announced in 2022, saying 14 burials had been found.

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George Gordon First Nation is about 116 kms north of Regina.

Children standing in front of the Gordon’s Indian Residential School in 1904. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Just ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday, Longman, who attended Gordon’s Indian Residential School, said the findings serve as a bleak reminder for Canada’s historical and ongoing relationship with Indigenous people.

“It’s important, because a lot of times people don’t believe until they actually see results, and that’s why it’s important for us to get this information out,” he said.

“… The First Nations’ rights have always been oppressed and overlooked. Part of our treaty agreements was education, but instead, we got these (residential schools). They were more like concentration camps.”

Gordon’s Indian Residential School was the last federally funded residential school in Canada, closing in 1996.

Longman said it was important for the community to continue the searches, even as they make memories of abuse and suffering resurface.

Joseph McNab attended the school during the 1970s. McNab said the possibility of unmarked graves never crossed his mind while he was at the school, but as he gets older he feels that there are still more to be uncovered.

“My people, my grandfathers, my grandmothers came here. My uncles and aunts came here. So yes, it does make you feel uncomfortable about this, and I believe that finding the truth about all what happened here is a priority for our community,” McNab said.

George Gordon First Nation is about 116 kms north of Regina. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Search continues on very large reserve

Continuing the search isn’t cheap or easy according to Sarah Longman, Chief Longman’s cousin and chair of the George Gordon First Nation Indian residential school committee.

“We need to do further work in some of the areas that we’ve uncovered just recently, and we’re going to expand the areas by the old school, as well as take a look at probably some other areas of interest,” Sarah said.

The committee is run by an entirely volunteer staff and requires federal funding to hire archeologists and technicians who assist in detecting the sites.

“We have covered very small, small sections of this very, very large reserve,” Sarah said.“To continue to do the searching, we’re going to require a whole lot more support.”

The area where 14 potential burials were discovered during the first phase of the search. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Joseph Daniels is also part of the committee. He said there’s been a sombre mood in the community in light of the announcement.

“These stories are going to be coming out for years and years, even here,” Daniels said. “There’s a lot of work still here. It’s going to take a long time to figure it out. All we’re getting is just little pieces of the puzzle.”

Given the age of some of the sites of interest, Daniels said a lot of cleanup by volunteers is required ahead of detection by ground penetrating radars.

Daniels’ grandmother attended Gordon’s. Daniels said many of his male relatives experienced severe sexual abuse at the school.

He said the school is a source of lots of trauma throughout the community and the building was torn down immediately after the school’s closure.

“These are babies in here that never made it home. I just think about that myself as a parent, I couldn’t imagine my kids being taken away from me, going to a residential school, never coming home and me not even knowing where they are,” Daniels said.

“These stories are going to be coming out for years and years, even here,” said volunteer Joseph Daniels. He is standing in front of a site where 14 possible burials were discovered. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Find the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.