NOTE: This article contains details about residential schools in B.C. and may be upsetting to readers. Please contact The Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free 1-800-721-0066 or 24-hour crisis line 1-866-925-4419 if you require emotional support or assistance.

The B次元官网网址楴amgis First Nation council has made the decision to find out whether unmarked burial grounds also exist around the site of the St. MichaelB次元官网网址檚 residential school, which was active in Alert Bay on Cormorant Island from 1894 to 1974. The building was torn down in 2015.

B次元官网网址淩ecently-uncovered unmarked burial grounds of First Nations children at the sites of former residential schools in B.C. and Saskatchewan have shaken First Nations throughout Canada,B次元官网网址� the B次元官网网址楴amgis council said in a statement on July 9. B次元官网网址淭he discoveries have shown that there is still much to be brought to light from the dark years of the residential school practices of mistreatment and abuse that lasted for decades.B次元官网网址�

The First Nation council noted it is currently seeking an expert to assist with implementing the search for possible unmarked graves.

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Under the project, former students of the St. MichaelB次元官网网址檚 will be interviewed to collect their information about the practices they witnessed during the period they were kept at the school while mental health and culturally appropriate supports will be provided.

Qualified contractors may be used to survey the area and propose further follow-up action depending on the findings, including excavation work.

B次元官网网址淢embership will be briefed regularly on the development, design and implementation of the project, which is expected to take some time to complete.B次元官网网址�

The Gazette reached out to B次元官网网址楴amgis elected and hereditary chief Don Svanvik, who stated he wants more than closure from this decision, not just for his own people, but for First Nations across the whole coast who attended St. Michaels.

B次元官网网址淔or everyone who went to residential schools, regardless of what their situation is now, this has stirred up so many emotions of anger, sadness, and itB次元官网网址檚 a really tough situation, but the truth has to come out.B次元官网网址�

On Vancouver Island, there are 202 children known to have died at five residential schools, although the Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimates the number is actually far higher. Here are the known names from St. Michaels.

St. Michaels Residential School B次元官网网址� Alert Bay (1894-1974)

Andrea Helen Alfred

Alfred McKay

Douglas Benson

Eva George

George L. Humchitt

Jackie Archie James

Lucy Gordon

Molly Irene Moon

Mona

Reggie Allan

Samson Edgar

Samson Harris

Sophia Edgar

Thomas Mason

May Nysok

- with files from Black Press Media

editor@northislandgazette.com
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