14 possible graves at former Anglican residential school

(Staff) A SASKATCHEWAN First Nation has located 14 possible graves on the grounds of a former Anglican-run residential school 100 km north of Regina.

On Apr. 20, George Gordon First Nation announced that ground-penetrating radar had found 14 subterranean anomalies that are likely human burials. The radar cannot determine if those buried at the site are adults or children. None of the suspected burials were located on or near known cemeteries.

The George Gordon Indian Residential School was one of the longest-running residential schools in the country. First established in 1888, it was operated by the Anglican Church of Canada until 1946 when it was managed by the Indian and Eskimo Welfare Commission until 1969, and then by the Government of Canada until its closure in 1996. The Anglican Church continued to provide chaplaincy into the 1990s.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has a record of 49 student deaths at the school.

Sarah Longman, a George Gordon member overseeing the search, said, “This is going to be at least a 10-year journey. We’re dealing with more than 100 years of history.”

Though the community has been in constant dialogue with the Anglican Church, Ms. Longman said it has yet to receive all the school records it needs.

Anglican Church of Canada spokesman Joseph Vecsi told the Globe and Mail that all residential school records were submitted to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and are available online.

“We know there are sites at Anglican residential schools where some graves are unmarked or where records are incomplete,” Mr. Vecsi said. “We are committed to working with Indigenous communities to assist to recover whatever information is available and to join in advocating for ground searches of those burial sites.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report called the George Gordon School one of the worst run in the entire residential school system. It singled out the school dozens of times in reports for a lengthy history of sexual and physical abuse, poor nutrition and bad management.

During a fierce blizzard in March 1939, Andrew Gordon, an 11-year-old boy, ran away from the school. According to the Regina Leader Post:

“Neither young Gordon’s parents nor police knew of his disappearance from school [on Saturday] until visitors brought news to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon on Monday evening. Mr. Gordon started out to search for the boy Tuesday morning, and in the afternoon found the frozen body in the woods a mile from home and seven miles from the school.”

Shortly after the federal government took over, William Peniston Starr become the director of the school’s residence from 1969 until 1984. In 1993, Starr pleaded guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault involving boys between seven and 14 years who had attended the Gordon residential school.

Corporal punishment at the school lasted into the1980s, long after it was phased out elsewhere. 

While the majority of the Indian Residential schools were run by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church ran about three dozen. In 1993 and again in 2019, the denomination formally apologized for its role in the residential schools.

Since last May, Gordon Nation is the tenth community to announce the recovery of possible school graves.     TAP