Ground-penetrating radar search guided by survivor testimonies

A search for unmarked graves at the former Blue Quills Residential School in eastern Alberta found 19 sites that contained anomalies consistent with burial plots.

The property, located about 150 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, was once a Roman Catholic-run institution. It now operates as University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills, which is governed by the seven First Nations communities that surround it.

An investigation using ground-penetrating radar uncovered “reflections” in the soil that are indicative of human burials or graves. The initial findings of the survey were released Wednesday morning as community elders, knowledge keepers and university officials gathered for a ceremony on campus. 

Bertha Janvier Moir, 69, a former student at the institution, said the search for the graves of her former peers must continue. 

The children who were buried at residential schools need to be honoured and “brought home,” Moir said…