Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan puts names to 300 of 751 unmarked graves

COWESSESS FIRST NATION — A Saskatchewan First Nation says it has identified about 300 unmarked graves at a former Indian Residential School site.

Earlier this year, Cowessess First Nation used ground-penetrating radar that discovered as many as 751 graves near where the Marieval school stood.

Not all the graves were believed to belong to children.

Catholic Church parishioners are thought to have been buried there, as well as members of neighbouring communities.

In the months since, The First Nation has worked with the Roman Catholic Church, the RCMP and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to put names to the unmarked graves.

They also have relied on people’s oral stories.

Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme says uncovering 300 names is progress and brings relief.

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