A First Nation in Manitoba said they have discovered “indication of human remains” on the site of a former residential school.
Opaskwayak Cree Nation announced Friday that after three days of searching, they had found unmarked burials at the former grounds of MacKay Residential School, located 11 kilometres northwest of The Pas.
The community said human remains detection dogs were involved in the search and indicated “six areas of interest” that may have more than one unmarked burial.
“It is very shocking,” Chief Maureen Brown said. “When it hits home, it hits hard.”
Ground penetrating radar will be used to confirm points of interest.
Students from multiple first nations in the area attended the school from 1914 to 1933, when it was destroyed by fire.
First Nations across Canada have been searching the sites of former residential schools since 2021 when anomalies were discovered in Kamloops.
This is a developing story. More details to come.