There was a lot of sickness in these institutions. Children died from diseases such as influenza, mumps, scrofula, tuberculosis.
The school — and I use the term loosely — was located on the north shore of Namew Lake, northeast of Cumberland House near the Manitoba border. Namew is sturgeon in Cree.
Today Sturgeon Landing is part of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. It has a population of about 100 and is only accessible by road from Manitoba.
Peter Ballantyne is comprised of nine communities with a total population of 12,000; the traditional territory of this huge Woodland Cree First Nation covers about 51,000 square kilometres.
The late Philip Morin, a friend of mine, was raised traditionally in the community of Southend on the shore of Reindeer Lake. He spent his early years with his family on the land, trapping in the winter and fishing in the summer.
Morin gave evidence to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about life at the residential school, and it wasn’t positive. The institution existed for 25 years. It opened in 1927 and burned down in 1952. After the fire, the children attended boarding schools in Manitoba.
Scrofula was brought on by crowded, unsanitary conditions and it spread within the population.
In the case of Sturgeon Landing, correspondence in 1937 from the Indian Agent at The Pas stated that the school was isolated and a doctor from The Pas was only able to visit once every three months.
In 1951, correspondence from the Department of Indian Affairs stated that “the school is woefully overcrowded.” It was also pointed out that 19 of the boys were sick and tuberculosis was suspected.
First, we are discovering the remains of our ancestors and care must be taken to respect their spirits. Some of the images are anomalies that are not necessarily human remains. The result of the ground-penetrating radar is the first step and much more research must be done.
The churches must have maintained some kind of record of the children who died in these institutions. There must be a map of the graveyard. The archives for the Catholic Church are kept in Rome and by the Anglicans in Toronto. The churches will have to review their archives and see what records exist.
Our leaders have cautioned against the belief that these are mass graves. They are not. They are separate burials; each death was separate. Mass graves exist at times of pandemics when many people die in a short time. The 1918 influenza epidemic might be an exception.
There is also some discussion of what to do when the graves are discovered, and the individuals identified. Some believe that the graves should be marked and the deceased allowed to rest in peace. Others want to patriate the remains to their home communities.
Most importantly, we must ensure that those who didn’t survive are not forgotten and that they are honoured and remembered by future generations.
Doug Cuthand is the Indigenous affairs columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Regina Leader-Post. He is a member of the Little Pine First Nation.
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