Shining a light
At the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in
Saskatchewan, unmarked graves were designated with flags
and solar lamps ahead of a vigil held by the Cowessess First
Nation on June 27. As many as 751 sets of human remains were
found on the grounds of the residential school, one of 139 across
Canada that for more than a century, Indigenous youth were
forced to attend as part of “assimilation” programs.
The remains of nearly 400 more children have been found at
two other former residential schools in British Columbia in recent
months. A 2015 report, funded by the Canadian government
as part of a settlement with thousands of former students and
their descendants, acknowledged at least 4,000 deaths at the
schools, which it termed “cultural genocide.”
Photograph by Amru Salahuddien—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
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