More on grisly findings in Saddle Lake

By Jake Cardinal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

WARNING: the following story deals with very graphic imagery and may be triggering to some readers. Please advise.

(ANNews) – Earlier this month, the Acimowin Opaspiw Society (AOS) — a Saddle Lake-based, survivorled non-profit organization leading the investigation into the Blue Quills Residential School — announced they have confirmed that at least 212 children were buried in unmarked graves during the school’s operations.

The investigation team said they confirmed the student burials in confidential records. Due to issues of privacy, the Society has said that they would like to keep their source undisclosed as the investigation is on-going and extremely delicate. At this stage in the investigation however, it is near impossible to determine how many children died and where they were placed to rest. This is due to the long and complicated history of the Blue Quills Indian Residential School — and the general lack of record-keeping seen so consistently in the Residential School system.

To be more precise: the first iteration of the Residential School operated from 1862 to 1898 in Lac La Biche, Alberta; it then re-located to Saddle Lake Cree Nation, where it operated between 1898 to 1931; before finally settling just outside of St. Paul, Alberta — where it still stands today.

Currently, the society only has access to burial records from 1898 to 1931, which is when the Saddle Lake site — previously named the Sacred Heart Indian Residential School — was operational. Meaning that the Saddle Lake site, to which the reason the announcement was made, has no locational relationship to the current Blue Quills University.

If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free line at 1-800-721-0066.