Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation calling for transparency, federal funding to locate unmarked graves

A research team has identified several areas near the site of a former Alberta residential school that may contain human remains.

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is looking to Ottawa for funding as the search for human remains near the St. Francis Xavier Residential School.

The First Nation, which is about 200 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, has been working with the University of Alberta’s Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, and says it has identified several areas using ground-penetrating radar close to the site of the residential school with a high potential for buried human remains.

“Over the past few years, our nation has worked to recover the truth about our missing children,” said Chief Sheldon Sunshine in a statement Tuesday. “This work should never have been this difficult, and it should never be done without proper support.”

Its Indian Residential School research team compiled a list of students that remain unaccounted for, estimating at least 100 school-age children from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation were sent to residential school and never returned.

“It has taken us two years to compile what information we have for our missing children, which is not complete,” said Gloria Laroque, Indian Residential School Research Coordinator.

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is requesting that both Libraries and Archives Canada and the Catholic Diocese share information they have related to the children who attended St. Francis Xavier.

“Gatekeeping, heavily redacted files, finding that many files have been destroyed, and limited access to our First Nation’s genealogical information, has made it a longer process filled with obstacles and barriers,” said Laroque.

Without continued funding from Ottawa, the search for the missing children may never be completed, said the First Nation.

The federal Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund has allocated more than $323 million since 2019 to support community-led initiatives. Communities can apply for up to $3 million per project to locate, document and commemorate burial sites.