The Canadian government has released a new interactive online map pinpointing the locations of residential schools that experts say will help locate unmarked or forgotten graves of children who were forcibly sent to the institutions.
Many of the boarding school buildings have been demolished, paved over or built over since the 1960s. The first one opened in Canada The first mill was built in the 1830s and the last closed in the mid-1990s.
of Indian Residential Schools Interactive Map It helps searchers know the exact location of the previous building.
“This is an incredibly valuable resource,” said Andrew Martindale, a professor of anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
“If we find evidence of a graveyard or burial ground and know where it is located relative to buildings from the 1930s, we can use that information to determine ‘where is this today?'”
Martindale said it was difficult to get information from authorities about the history of former residential school sites, their history and the names of the landowners.
“Even a metre off could affect our work,” said Martindale, who sits on the National Advisory Committee on Missing and Unmarked Residential School Children.
The free mapping tool includes contemporary and historical aerial photographs, allowing users to visualize where facilities operated and what they looked like.
A window into the past
More than 100 Indigenous communities are involved in the residential school graveyard search and have had to pay to get aerial maps from libraries and make freedom of information requests to government agencies to access records, he said. Kimberly Murray Independent Special Counsellor for Missing Children of Unknown Burial Grounds.
While the tool may be too late to aid ongoing local searches, Murray said all of the new data will help in the search for missing children.
“The more information that’s provided to the community, the better,” Murray said, “but I don’t think Canada is doing enough in terms of providing information.”
![Kimberly Murray poses from the shoulders and smiles in this photo.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.6670230.1719687743!/cumulusImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/kimberly-r-murray.jpg)
During the residential school era, approximately 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis people were removed from their families. Ottawa used the Indian Act to force children into government-funded residential schools and indoctrination into European-Christian Canadian society.
Many children suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse.
This interactive map excludes many institutions that inflicted similar harms on Indigenous children as residential schools.
The tool does not list Indian hospitals, tuberculosis sanatoriums, day schools, or boarding schools that do not receive federal funding.
The facilities were not included in the $1.9 billion Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which required the government to compile records documenting the history of the facilities and turn them over to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
A new tool to combat residential school denial
Tricia Logan, interim academic director of the Centre for Indian Residential School History and Dialogue at the University of British Columbia, said she hopes the map reflects all of the facilities used to assimilate Indigenous children.
“Anything that can be made more accessible and just a little bit more transparent is always going to be very helpful and supportive to the nations and communities that are currently doing that research,” said Logan, who is also an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at UBC.
The map does not include information about residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized to residential school survivors in the province after a $50 million settlement was reached for the province being excluded because the federal government did not operate residential schools in the province.
Another notable building missing from this list is the former residential school in Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, which remains a source of disagreement between the federal and Saskatchewan governments over who is responsible.
![The names of those who died at residential schools are displayed as people take part in a National Truth and Reconciliation Day ceremony in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7250691.1719624410!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/national-reconciliation-day-20220930.jpg)
Despite the lack of information, Logan said the data released by the government could help counter misinformation and disinformation about residential schools, known as denialism.
“Maps like these provided by government sources help counter some of the most pernicious misinformation and disinformation claims,” Logan said.
CBC News requested an interview with Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, but she did not respond.
Hajdu said in a news release that the map will empower survivors and the community.
“For too long, Canadians have had the truth of colonialism hidden from them, harming us all and delaying the healing that is essential to the health and prosperity of our nation,” Hajdu said.
The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is there to provide support to survivors and those affected. People can receive emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.
Mental health counseling and crisis support is also available 24/7 through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or via online chat.