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This work is supported financially by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada; the Province of British Columbia, in its designation of WLFN as a caretaker community; WLFN Chief and Council; and by Indigenous Nations who have indicated their support.
& Back Cover Photo Credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Sacred Fire - WLFN, 2023
Dedication Page
Dedicated to all the Survivors and families whose loved ones attended St. Joseph’s Mission and other Residential School institutions across Canada.
We see you, we hear you, and we believe you.
Prayer for the Children Me7 qwentsíctem re stsmémelt
I stand here and watch you go
Stselélut-ken ne7élye ell tspíqwstlmen te qwetséts-kp
Waiting for you to turn around and come back for me
Tsḱelmínstlmen es scwelpílc-emp ell me7 stpelqíqelcmentselpes.
I watch you until you disappear
Tspíqwstlmen wel m-legúp-kp.
I stand here on my spot and see your smiling faces through my tears
Stselelut-ken ne7élye ell wíktlmen te tsqwetqwíts-kp yúmell nen skecúcwsem.
I miss my house, I miss my bed, I miss my family and I miss my land.
Xetmímen re sqlélten, re tse7uwi ell re teniye7élltse.
They beat me when I talk my language
Spúpsentsems le m-qwelúltwen nen xqweltéten.
They force themselves upon us and take our spirit, soul and dignity
Cpe7súlecwmens-kucw ell kwect.s te skúltens te stelsqélecws ell te sxyemstsút.s-kucw.
I stand here waiting but could not make it anymore
Stselélut-ken ne7élye kémell tlélmen re sw7écstels.
Now I lay here waiting for you to come get me
Pyin púpelt-ken ne7élye, tsekelmínstsen es tskwékwentsemc.
Come now and get me
Tsxwénte pyin me7 tskwékwentsemcwes
I am waiting Tsekelmínstsen.
Feed me again so my spirit and soul can rest honourably
Metsétsemcwes cúytsem es méllelcs ren skúkwelten ell ren stelsqéqlecw wel me7 yews!
- Written by Nancy Sandy, 2024
Photo Credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Sacred Fire - WLFN, 2023
Sts ’ lewts ne sk ’ mews ren stsmémelt
Our children stand in the middle
Photo Credit: Alexandre Tétreault Photography, Elders - Williams Lake, 2022
Letter from Chief Sellars
Weytk-kp Xwexweystep,
When the Williams Lake First Nation (T ’ exelc, the place where the salmon charge up the river) approached the idea of investigating the former St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School and Onward Ranch in August 2021, our community, located south of Williams Lake, British Columbia (Yucwt), recognized the formidable challenges that lay ahead.
For decades, the Elders in our community had whispered about the dark secrets of life at St. Joseph’s Mission. There were stories of neglect, sexual assault, disappearance, and deaths of children. Many Survivors found themselves unable or unwilling to give formal statements or accounts of these events due to the crushing
shame and guilt imposed upon them by the government and Church.
Now, however, the truth about Residential Schools is emerging into the light. Nationwide, communities like Tk ’ emlúps and Blue Quills are revealing the results of their investigations.
Awareness of this lengthy chapter in Canadian history is growing, and support for Survivors is getting stronger and more meaningful. People across the country, both First Nations and non-First Nations, are finally finding the strength to have conversations about what happened at these institutions and the intergenerational impacts that Residential Schools have had on First Nations communities.
WLFN will continue to work with Survivors and Elders as they make their way through their healing journeys. We
will continue to walk alongside other First Nations communities as they advance their own investigations and pursue justice, healing, and peace for future generations.
WLFN stands firm in the assertion that the effort to investigate and reconcile the disappearances and deaths of children at Residential Schools must be led by First Nations people. The federal and provincial governments need to support this work, which will continue into the foreseeable future.
This interim report provides a summary of the work undertaken by WLFN’s investigation team since the commencement of the St. Joseph’s Mission investigation in 2021. It is important to remember that there is still much more work to be done.
To the Survivors – we see you, we hear you, and we believe you.
All my relations.
... both First Nations and non-First Nations, are finally finding the strength to have conversations about what happened...
Kukwstép-kucw, Kúkwpi7 Willie Sellars
Letter from the Project Manager
In May 2021, a small group of staff at Williams Lake First Nation gathered in our boardroom to witness an announcement by Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc. We anticipated the announcement would be heavy in nature, as it would discuss the investigation into the former Residential School at Kamloops, British Columbia. We listened with heavy hearts as Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc announced a preliminary finding of 215 potential unmarked graves on the grounds.
In that moment, we took a collective breath and gathered ourselves for what would become a life-changing journey. That day, we discussed briefly what needed to be done. But there
was only one real answer. Our team needed to embark on a path to find and document the truth about what occurred at the St. Joseph’s Mission and Onward Ranch, in Williams Lake. We needed to harness the momentum and public attention from the Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc announcement to place the genocide that was Indian Residential Schools under a microscope for all of humanity to see.
Since that time, our team has come a long way. The path has not been an easy one, but for every story of devastation, we have heard countless more of hope, resilience, and healing. We have watched as communities gather to support their Elders, their Survivors, and, most importantly, their
Photo Credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Prime Minister VisitWFLN, 2022
children. We have seen firsthand how the winds of reconciliation are blowing and changing the world for generations of Indigenous children to come.
Even so, there remains much work to be done in the search for disappeared and deceased children at St. Joseph’s Mission and Onward Ranch. Our commitment as a team is unwavering: we will use all means to reunite the disappeared and deceased children from St. Joseph’s Mission with their families, and to return ownership of the sacred lands on which generations of Indigenous children were starved, tortured, and died.
As the work progresses, and as discoveries are made, the WLFN investigation team will continue to update families, communities, and leadership. This interim report is a resource on the investigation: on work that has been done, work that remains to be done, and how we will move forward collectively with families and communities. Kukwstétsemc,
Whitney Spearing, MA, RPCA
Lead investigator and archaeologist, St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School and Onward Ranch Investigation
The path has not been an easy one, but for every story of devastation, we have heard countless more of hope, resilience, and healing.
Meet the Team
Kúkwpi7 Chief Willie Sellars
Willie Sellars was born and raised in Williams Lake and is a member of the Williams Lake First Nation of the Secwépemc Nation. Elected to Council at the age of 23 in 2008, Willie was one of the youngest elected councillors in WLFN’s history. After serving 10 years on Council, he was elected as the Chief in 2018 and is currently in his second term.
Willie worked as a wildland firefighter for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations before returning to his community to assume the position of special project coordinator in the WLFN Economic Development Department. He was responsible for new business initiatives flowing from impact benefit agreements, engagement with proponents in the Traditional Territory, and community consultation for major projects.
Willie is the author of Dipnetting with Dad,
which won a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award and was shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily, Shining Willow, and Ontario Library Association awards. His second book is Hockey with Dad. Willie enjoys family time with his partner and five kids, powwow dancing, playing hockey with the Williams Lake Stampeders, attending community events at WLFN, and hunting and dipnet fishing.
Whitney Spearing, MA, RPCA
Whitney is the lead investigator and archaeologist for the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School and Onward Ranch Investigation, a registered professional consulting archaeologist, and the mother of one amazing boy. She has lived and worked in the BC Interior for over two decades. Born and raised in North Vancouver, she began her career as an archaeologist at Capilano College and then completed her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
Willie Sellars
Whitney Spearing
with a focus on archaeology, from the University of Northern British Columbia. Since that time, she has completed a postgraduate degree in project management at the University of British Columbia and a Master of Arts in Archaeology from Simon Fraser University. Whitney’s current research focuses on geochemical analysis of lithic raw material, using portable X-ray technology, and landscape archaeology. She is vicepresident of the British Columbia Association of Professional Archaeologists and a member of the Canadian Archaeology Association.
Whitney has travelled extensively, including to Ireland, where she participated in the forensic recovery and excavation of a site in County Roscommon. The site was featured in a documentary about deviant burials and their links to “vampire” skeletons around the world. She returned to British Columbia and worked in consulting archaeology. In 2016, Whitney accepted a position at WLFN as a natural resource coordinator. From there, she established an in-house consulting firm, Sugar Cane Archaeology, and has held several positions at WLFN. She is currently senior manager of title and rights for WLFN and senior archaeologist/ project manager for Sugar Cane Archaeology.
Nancy Sandy
Nancy Sandy is a Secwépemc from T ’ exelc. Her primary area of research and work has been the revival and resurgence of Indigenous laws in the area of child safety. However, she recognizes that isolating one area of the law for Indigenous
Peoples is like separating us from our lands of origin. Indigenous laws embrace every aspect of the economic, legal, political, and social sectors of our lives, and they are interconnected, as they have been from our creation. St’exelcemc law commits Ms. Sandy to embedding Indigenous worldviews, research methodologies, and the transmission of knowledge principles into her research and to abiding by local Indigenous Protocols as a researcher and consultant. Ms. Sandy believes that Indigenous Peoples’ selfgovernment and self-determination require strong administrative, governance, and legal foundations that are respectful of Indigenous culture, history, language, laws, and legal processes. Ms. Sandy also believes there is a sacred responsibility to right the injustices to Indigenous Peoples because of the genocide that occurred at St. Joseph’s Indian Residential School.
Charlene Belleau
For over 35 years, Charlene has been a strong advocate for former students of St. Joseph’s Indian Residential School. The late 1980s saw many former Indian Residential School (IRS) warriors step forward to hold priests, including Bishop Hubert O’Conner, to account in the criminal courts for sexual abuse. Because of the trauma associated with high-profile criminal trials, Charlene, with the support of political leaders in British Columbia, established a project now known as the Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
Nancy Sandy
Charlene Belleau
Charlene has since served at the local, provincial, and national levels on IRS. Charlene coordinated the engagement of former students in key inquiries (including the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, in 1996) that highlighted the abuses of Canada’s IRS system. Beginning in 1997, she facilitated the Law Commission of Canada’s work to redress wrongs experienced by former students. Canada’s 1998 Statement on Reconciliation was the beginning of a long process of retribution. Charlene was part of the Assembly of First Nation’s team to negotiate the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, of which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a priority. Charlene served three terms as Kukpi7 of Esk’etemc and several years on Council. Dealing with IRS trauma continues to be the cornerstone of her work to create healthier and safer families and Nations.
Kirk Dressler, BA, LLB
Born and raised in British Columbia, Kirk is a graduate of Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia with degrees in political science and law. A practising member of the BC Bar, Kirk has spent the last 20 years working exclusively on initiatives related to the advancement of aboriginal rights, with particular emphasis on First Nations governance, policy, and economic development.
From 2000 to 2009, Kirk was employed by Westbank First Nation, where he served as Council Secretariat and general legal counsel.
Kirk has been employed by Williams Lake First Nation since 2009 and currently acts as Director of Legal and Corporate Services, where he provides oversight for the Lands, Title and Rights and Economic Development Departments. He also acts as Chief Executive Officer of Sugar Cane Development Corporation, WLFN’s Aboriginal Economic Development Corporation. Kirk also teaches and maintains a legal practice. He lives In Williams Lake with his wife, Kim, and their two children, Caris and Finley.
Christopher Blain
Chris is the project’s research assistant for archival research. A member of Sts’ailes, Chris was born in Williams Lake and grew up in Kitimat, British Columbia. He studied psychology and Indigenous studies at UBC. His career has focused on multicultural relations and mental well-being. He became interested in Residential Schools when his grandmother talked about her experiences following Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology in 2008. He worked in the school system as an Indigenous youth support worker and taught Indigenous culture in Japan. He assists with archival research and developing WLFN’s archives. When he’s not working, he enjoys swimming, learning languages, playing video games, and reading.
Kirk Dressler
Christopher Blain
Kourtney Cook, BA, MBA
Kourtney is a member of the McLeod Lake First Nation and the Chief Administrative Officer for WLFN. She plays a central role in overseeing day-to-day operations and ensuring the efficient delivery of essential services. Kourtney collaborates closely with elected officials, community members, and staff to develop and implement strategic initiatives for the investigation.
Kourtney has a Bachelor’s Degree in public administration and community development from the University of Northern British Columbia, which gave her the knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of governance and administration. She recently completed a Master of Business degree at Simon Fraser University, specializing in Indigenous business leadership.
Her father attended Lejac Residential School in Fraser Lake, and her late mother is of settler descent. Kourtney possesses an intimate understanding of the intricacies and sorrow entrenched in the project and is deeply dedicated to the investigation.
Beyond her professional endeavours, Kourtney enjoys camping and exploring with her husband and four-year-old daughter. Through her work and education, she strives to nurture a thriving and transformative future for WLFN. Kourtney lives in 150 Mile House with her husband, Robert and their daughter, Ramona.
Vanessa Clement
Vanessa is WFLN’s director of human resources. She oversees all human resource practices in hiring, recruitment, and retention. A member of the Nazko First Nation of the Carrier Nation, Vanessa spent most of her childhood and youth in Tl’etinqox, part of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation, where two of her younger brothers still reside. Vanessa has worked for and within the Secwépemc Nation for over a decade, serving 10 communities, mainly in health and injury surveillance and prevention. She had the privilege of teaching the mining industries about Indigenous and community relations and has provided training on cultural awareness to vice-presidents, senior management, and front-line supervisors of major corporations. Vanessa is an intergenerational Survivor and the first generation of her family to not attend a Residential School.
Kiera Dolighan
Kiera became the senior manager of social development at WLFN in April 2020 and the health director and social development manager in August 2021. A born-and-raised resident of Williams Lake, she moved away briefly to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in 2010. Her experiences with the mental health and healthcare systems caused Kiera to take an interest in human services. In 2016, she began working for the Ministry of Children and Families as a social work assistant. She is pursuing a Kiera Dolighan
Vanessa Clement
Kourtney Cook
master’s degree in counselling psychology to become a mental health and addictions counsellor.
To Kiera, health isn’t just about medical care. It’s about housing, education, employment – it’s about the social fabric that’s woven together from different forms of care and support in a community. For her, one of the most exciting aspects of working in health for a First Nations government is that the organization is agile enough to tailor support systems to individuals and families, unencumbered by rigid policy, which Western healthcare systems are notorious for. Kiera’s work and passion centre on integrating aspects of Western care into holistic models that are inclusive, grassroots, culturally based, and rooted in land, self, identity, recreation, and community.
Kyleen Toyne
Kyleen Toyne is WLFN’s social development coordinator and works alongside the investigation team as a health and wellness support.
In 2014, Kyleen graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Child and Youth Care. For over 15 years, Kyleen has worked in a variety of settings – including shelters, drop-in centres, community organizations, and schools – in support of adults, children and youth, and their families. Her career in social work has included child welfare, foster care, preventive services, working with individuals with developmental
disabilities, and supporting survivors of intimatepartner violence, substance abuse, and trauma. Kyleen is committed, dedicated, and passionate about advocating for and supporting clients so they can receive the care they need. When Kyleen is not working, she is spending time with her family and her dog, Oscar.
Danikka Murphy
Weytkp xwexweytp! Hello everyone! Cayus ell Qw ’ miw ’ s ren qelmucwécwske. My given names are Survivor\Wild Horse. Danikka Murphy ren skwekwst. My name is Danikka Murphy. Te T ’ exélc ell Xeni Gwet ’ in re st ’ e7é7kwen. Ell ec re mu ’ mtwen ne Sk ’ úl ’ e7ten. I come from WLFN and Nemiah Valley. I live in Williams Lake. Seq ’ tew ’ sken te Pesxíxlem ell Séme7. I am half Chilcotin and half white. Ec re e7elkstwen ne School District 27 Secwepemctsín lleqme ’ melt-ken ell T ’ exélc community cultural assistant. I work in School District 27 as a Shuswap language teacher and with WLFN as the community cultural assistant. I do a variety of work – from language, ceremonies, and drumming to medicine picking and smudging. I learn something new every day. Kukwstsétselp! Thank you all!
Kyleen Toyne
Danikka Murphy
David Archie
David Archie, the cultural coordinator for WFLN, was born and raised in Stswecem’c/Xgat’tem (Dog Creek/Canoe Creek). His father is Eric Archie and his mother is Sandra Archie (Roper) from Esk’etemc (Alkali Lake). From a young age, he was shown the life of the Secwépemc and the connection to the land. Starting at the age of three, David went to Tsqilye (Sweat Lodge) ceremonies with his dad and uncles. His mother and aunts taught him respect for the land and its food through gathering and fishing at the river. His community was a nest for growth in his formative years. Through all life’s lessons, he was blessed with three sons who have changed his path in life for the better. If he wasn’t already fortunate, the birth of his grandsons, Xarius and Xander, ensured his connection to the roles and responsibilities of a Secwépemc man. David enjoys sharing all that he has been taught by his Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
David was two years into his Bachelor of Arts program when his son Isaac was diagnosed with leukemia. To support Isaac, he left school to be at his side. After an eight-year confrontation, the leukemia went into remission. Isaac is now 15 years old and in great health. David’s focus has always been on his sons and being a good father and role model. He plans to return to school to complete a degree and to achieve his language proficiency in Secwepemcstín. He has also been learning from many Knowledge Keepers about medicine, ceremony, songs, and Protocols.
David follows his heart and wants to honour his
parents and grandchildren by being a good man who leads with respect, love, and balance.
Brandon Hoffman
Brandon Hoffman is the Manager of Marketing and Communications at Williams Lake First Nation. Born and raised in Williams Lake, BC, he holds a BA in Communications from Simon Fraser University. Much of his career has been in music production and event coordination. While attending university, Brandon taught audio production at a small college in New Westminster where he had previously studied. After completing his degree, he ran his own business focused on studio music production and live sound for events, living in the lower mainland and frequently traveling to the interior for work. From 2015 to 2019, Brandon returned to the Cariboo to work as the administrator of the Central Cariboo Arts Centre, focusing on nurturing arts and culture in his home region. In 2022, newly married, he returned to his hometown to begin the next chapter of his life, working with Williams Lake First Nation.
David Archie
Brandon Hoffman
SJM Organizational Chart
Historical
Context Sts ’ lewts ne sk ’ mews ren stsmémelt
Our children stand in the middle
Photo credit: Alexandre Tétreault Photography, Fire Circle - Williams Lake, 2022
Photo credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
The Indian Residential School System
In the 1880s, the Canadian government adopted a policy to Christianize, assimilate, and integrate “Indians” into Canadian society through the 1876 Indian Act and the Indian Residential School (IRS) system. Prior to the 1880s, various Christian denominations –Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian – had run independent Residential and Day Schools to convert Indigenous Peoples from their “pagan” beliefs. But the cost of running these schools was high, so the missionaries sought financial assistance from the government.
The Canadian government saw the schools as part of the solution to the “Indian problem” – settling Indian Peoples on segregated reserves so
their Traditional Lands and resources could be co-opted by the government and settlers. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald commissioned journalist and politician Nicholas Flood Davin to study Industrial Schools for Indigenous students in the United States. Davin recommended that Canada follow the US example of “aggressive civilization” to force Indigenous Peoples to enter the “modern” economy. This educational vision had three components:
• a justification for removing children from their communities and disrupting Aboriginal families
• a precise pedagogy for resocializing children in the schools
• schemes for integrating graduates into the non-Aboriginal world (1)
The government agreed to build schools across the country and pay the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches a per-capita grant based on a school’s location and size. There were a total of 139 institutions across Canada, and British Columbia ended up with 17 schools.
The high costs associated with running the schools led to jurisdictional challenges. But the schools continued to operate with inadequate funding and teachers who lacked proper credentials. The last Residential School closed in 1996.
Location Overview
The St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School is located just a few kilometers from the Williams Lake First Nation community of Sugar Cane, in the San Jose River Valley south of Williams Lake. The Onward Ranch was added to the Oblates’ holdings in 1964 and operated as a ranch and farm to sustain St Joseph’s Mission. Historically, the lands comprising the St. Joseph’s Mission and Onward Ranch were the traditional lands of the Secwepemc people. Like so many other areas of the province, the land was preempted without consideration for First Nations’ rights or title.
WILLIAMS
St. Joseph's Mission and Onward Ranch
St. Joseph’s Mission (SJM) and Onward Ranch (OR) are located in the picturesque San Jose River Valley, on the territory of the T ’ exelcemc people, who have lived in the BC Interior since time immemorial. The T ’ exelcemc are part of the larger Secwépemc (or Shuswap) Nation, whose people traditionally practised a semi-nomadic lifestyle. They gathered food in the warmer months and sheltered in permanent villages in the winter.
During colonization, the lands around Williams Lake and within the San Jose River Valley were pre-empted by white settlers. This pre-emption occurred on lands located in what is now the City of Williams Lake, where the T ’ exelc people had a large village
site. Because of the pre-emption and the government’s failure to provide Indian reserve lands, the T ’ exelc people were forcibly removed and sent to live on the opposite side of the lake. The T ’ exelc people settled in the San Jose River Valley, on lands pre-empted by Catholic missionaries to establish a mission. For decades, the T ’ exelc people lived on these lands, were denied reserve lands, and were forced into starvation. On November 7, 1879, Chief William wrote a letter to the Daily British Colonist about the struggle of the T ’ exelc people. He warned that there would be trouble. In response, the government purchased a portion of a rancher’s estate and established an Indian reserve at what is now known as Sugar Cane.
St. Joseph’s Mission was founded by Father James McGuckin, a Roman Catholic priest, in 1867. The mission would be a point from which the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic missionary order, could evangelize the surrounding Secwépemc, Tŝilhqot’in, and Dakelh peoples. The Oblates established a ranch to sustain the mission and to export goods and food to other missions. They built a boarding school so Indigenous People and local settlers could learn the Catholic faith. The first students were primarily tuition-paying boys of mixed Indigenous heritage. The boarding school admitted a girl when her father threatened to send her to a Protestant school. In September 1876, the Sisters of St. Anne arrived and opened a school for girls.
The Oblates struggled to keep the boarding school open. The boom and bust of the Cariboo Gold Rush meant parents couldn’t always pay tuition. The Sisters of St. Anne complained about poor living conditions and left the mission in 1888. In the meantime, the Canadian government created the IRS system. In 1884, amendments to the Indian Act provided for the creation of schools, funded and operated by the Canadian government and the Churches. In 1891, the federal government, as part of its nation-wide building blitz, constructed an Indian Industrial School at SJM.
The goal of the Industrial Schools was to kill the “Indian” in the child and to save the child through education, industry, and Christianity. At first, attendance at schools was optional. During the Industrial School era, students were subjected to the halfday system. They spent half the day on academics, and the other half on labour-intensive tasks such as ranching, logging, farming, and domestic duties. Father Jean-Marie LeJacq became the first principal of Williams Lake Industrial School. At first, he boasted that no students had died from illness. However, the annual report for the Department of Indian Affairs in 1898 reported that a student had passed away from consumption (tuberculosis).
After this, the school reported multiple deaths per year, from injury, disease, neglect, and exposure to the elements.
During the school’s early years, many children fled. They tried to return home to their families and communities. In February 1902, a boy named Duncan Sticks ran away from SJM toward his home community of Esk’etemc (Alkali Lake). He set out in the winter, and a search party was sent after him. A local rancher, Antonio Boitano, found Duncan propped against a tree, frozen and lifeless. That same month, an inquest was held to determine the circumstances surrounding Duncan’s death. On February 28, 1902, children and adults testified at a coroner’s inquest that hunger and corporal punishment were causing children to run away. After the inquiry, the school was inspected by the Department of Indian Affairs. The report blamed cases of starvation on children not asking for more food. In response, the school instituted stricter punishments for running away, including flogging, isolation, making boys wear dresses, and shaving girls’ heads (2).
In 1920, the Indian Act was updated to make attendance at Residential Schools mandatory for Treaty-Status children between the ages of 7 and 16 (3). Students had to stay enrolled, even if they had already completed
the highest grade, Grade 6. In Williams Lake and across the Cariboo region, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police worked directly with religious sects, including the Oblates, to enforce attendance. Enforcement included threats of violence and the incarceration of parents and guardians.
On August 22, 1920, Paul Stanislaus wrote a letter to the Indian Agent about the death of his son Augustine Allan (4). Augustine was one of nine students reported to have ingested poison hemlock at the school. Augustine was the only student who died, but archival records contain a horrific account of the incident. In the record, a nun recounts that an entire classroom of more than 30 boys ingested the hemlock and fell under their desks screaming, convulsing, vomiting, foaming at the mouth, and sweating. Father Thomas administered Last Rights. The government ordered
The IRS at SJM closed its doors in 1982.
Former students held a celebration on its grounds.
an inspection to determine if poor treatment led to the suicide pact, but delays meant students weren’t properly inspected by a doctor before the summer vacation started.
Other inspections revealed significant fire hazards in the school’s buildings and dwellings. In 1954, the priests’ and boys’ dormitories caught fire and burned down. Students slept in the classroom building until a new dormitory building was constructed.
This new school was called Cariboo Indian Residential School, and Father Alex Morris was assigned as principal. During Father Morris’s time, he introduced students to the Royal Canadian Air Force (including Cadets), started a Pipe Band, a 4H Cattle Club, and other sports. Sadly, these extracurricular activities, which took place away from watchful eyes, became a breeding ground for rampant sexual abuse. Despite the best efforts of some staff, starvation, illness, poor nutrition and housing, and physical and sexual abuse continued, unmitigated. From the 1950s to the early 1980s, in particular, the impregnation and sexual abuse of students was rampant. Former students reported that girls would be shipped away to unwed mothers’ homes or foster homes or their babies would either be aborted medically or by other means or carried
to term and incinerated in the school’s garbage burners.
The federal government took over IRS in 1969, but the Oblates continued to staff and run the SJM school. In 1964, the Oblates purchased OR to augment beef and hay production and to finance their mission’s operational expenses. As the number of students increased, priests and brothers also lived at OR. Survivor testimonies include accounts of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and the burial of children at the ranch and on neighbouring property, including a small cabin constructed at Yellow Lake, ostensibly as a “retreat.” Survivors recounted priests brewing and distilling liquor and bringing in underage boys and girls from the school for use in sexual acts at parties.
During the 1960s and 1970s, students who wanted to progress past Grade 6 could stay on at the school. Those who wanted to go further than Grade 9 were bused to the public school in Williams Lake or college in Prince George. They stayed at the mission’s residence or were boarded in homes in Williams Lake.
The IRS at SJM closed its doors in 1982. Former students held a celebration on its grounds. For the next decade, the buildings housed an educationtraining centre, a treatment centre,
and a daycare. None of these initiatives was a complete success. Several of the buildings were demolished and the grounds went to auction.
Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) wanted to purchase the mission and ranch properties to preserve and protect the site of so much trauma and death. The federal government, however, decided that the property would not be eligible for purchase by the Nation. The situation, it argued, was “too political.” The lands were offered to private holders at a minimal price.
WLFN and other Nations across British Columbia affected by SJM have come together in solidarity to hold the Church and government accountable. In the 1990s, several priests and brothers were tried and convicted for sexually assaulting students at SJM. Several documentaries have been made about the mission, and the Cariboo Tribal Council hosted the first-ever National Conference on Residential Schools in Williams Lake in 1992.
The historical timeline of SJM and OR shows the institution’s history in more detail.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin, Saint Joseph's Mission School, 1965
A Mission Timeline
Establishment of WLFN in San Jose River
The T’exelcemc (or Williams Lake First Nation) people, have lived in the territory surrounding the San Jose River, and Williams Lake, since time immemorial. When lands were illegally pre-empted in what is now the City of Williams Lake, people were removed from their lands and forced to settle around the San Jose River, without the benefit of reserve land.
First Church Established at St. Joseph’s Mission
The original church at SJM was a simple log structure.
Courtesy of the OMI Dechateles
Courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin
1874
Father McGuckin
Father James Marie McGuckin, founder of St. Joseph’s Mission. By 1874, a school for white children and half-breeds was open at the SJM site.
1888
Sister of St. Anne Leave the Mission
The sisters of St. Anne leave St Joseph’s Mission, after a few short years, due to financial difficulties.
Courtesy of Deschatelets-NDC Archives in Richelieu, Quebec
Courtesy of Whitney Spearing
1891
Mission School Opened
Male students cutting and stacking wood logs for heat at SJM.
1891
Mission School Opened
Girl students sewing articles of clothing at SJM.
Courtesy of Deschatelets-NDC Archives in Richelieu, Quebec
Courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin
1894
Attendance at Residential Schools Becomes
Compulsory
Amendments to the Indian Act in 1894 made attendance of Indian children compulsory at residential schools and non-attendance punishable by fine or imprisonment of the parents or guardians of those children.
Indian Act and Amendments, 1868-1975 page 164 accessed via https://publications.gc.ca/collections/ collection_2017/aanc-inac/R5-158-2-1978-eng.pdf
1897
Father Thomas
Father Thomas served at St. Joseph’s Mission from 1897 until his death in 1957.
Courtesy of the Royal B.C Museum
1899
School at SJM Inspected
(Inspection of the school due to complaints by local ranchers of being not able to compete with prices.)
The school inspection notes that the “school is successful as a money-making institution, but not in the efficient teaching and training of Indian children”.
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10, Vol. 6436, reel C-8762, file 878-1, part 1
1904
Students and Staff at SJM
Staff and students at SJM in 1904. Duncan Sticks’ sisters, who gave testimony at the inquest into his death, are shown in this photo.
1910
Historic Buildings at SJM
Buildings at the St. Joseph’s Mission, c. 1900s.
Courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin
Courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin
1913
Pacific Great Eastern Rail links to Williams Lake
In 1913, the PGE Railway was officially linked to Williams Lake. The timetable shows a stop at Onward. There was also a small siding at SJM, where students from Lillooet and Pemberton debarked the train.
Created by Pacific Great Eastern Railway sAccessed via web: https://www.american-rails.com/pge.html
1920
Suicide Pact – Death of Augustine Allen
In 1920, roughly 30 male students at SJM ingested poisonous water hemlock. One of the students, Augustine Allen, died as a result. He is buried at SJM, in an unknown location.
Both flu and meningitis outbreaks occurred throughout the 1920s, and several students died as a result. Patrick Moffat Stanislans was one of those students.
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10, Vol. 6437, reel C-8763, file 878-5, part 1
Material belongs to the archives of the Royal BC Museum. Please contact the Royal BC Museum for permission to use this item. https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/archives/visit/contact
Material belongs to the archives of the Royal BC Museum. Please contact the Royal BC Museum for permission to use this item.
In 1932, illegal dams were placed along the San Jose River causing a dramatic reduction in water. Two children were hospitalized as a result as being ‘near-death’. It is not known what happened to these students.
Courtesy of Deschatelets-NDC Archives in Richelieu, Quebec
1932
Cholera Outbreak in Water Supply
In 1932, there was an outbreak of cholera at SJM due to contaminated water supply and wooden pipes connected to Yellow Lake.
Map: Water Supply System of the Cariboo Indian Residential School
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10, Vol. 6436, reel C-8762, file 878-1, part 3
A 1949 letter, authored by the Department of Mines, details the building at SJM as being “badly neglected, and has deteriorated so badly it is now an actual fire trap”.
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10, Vol. 8703, reel C-14164, file 962/6-1, part 2
1954
Boys Dorm Burns down
In 1954, both the Priests’ and Boys’ dormitory buildings burned to the ground. After attending the fire, the Williams Lake Volunteer Fire Department noted the inadequate fire protection at the school and recommended purchase of additional firefighting equipment.
Courtesy of Royal B.C Museum
Courtesy of the Williams Lake Tribune
1955
New School Building Opened
The new dormitory building at SJM was constructed in 1955 and contained dorms, an infirmary, and incineration facilities.
Courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin
1959 Air Cadets
The Royal Canadian Air Force establishes an Air Cadets Squadron at SJM, as well as a girls' Scottish Pipe Band.
Photo courtesy Jean William collection.
1962
Agreement Between Canada and Oblates of Mary Immaculate for Operation of the School
In 1962, the Federal Government of Canada signed an agreement with the OMI deeming them responsible for the operation of the school at SJM.
Document: Memorandum of Agreement Between Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada and Indianescom
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10, Acc. no. 2014-02388-3, box 102, file 989/25-13, part 1
Courtesy of Jean William
1964
Oblates of Mary Immaculate Purchases Onward Ranch
In 1964, OMI purchases the Onward Cattle Ranch to support finances, and provide additional living quarters for priests and staff. Abuse of students that occurred at SJM, also occurred at the Onward.
Courtesy of Royal B.C Museum
Copyright Kent Sedwick Reproduced with the permission of Northern B.C. Archives and Special Collections
SJM Dumping 40,000 Gallons of Raw Sewage into San Jose River, Daily
In 1965, the Cariboo Union Board of Health threatens to close down SJM if the sewage contamination issue is not dealt with. At this time, 40,000 gallons of raw sewage are emptying into the San Jose watershed, daily.
Photo: [View of Williams Lake at Cariboo Indian Residential School]
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10, Vol. 13383, file 962/6-1-014
Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum
1967
Pipe Band
The Royal Canadian Air Force girls pipe band, in front of SJM.
Archbishop William Mark Duke fonds, reproduced with the permission of Archdiocese of Vancouver Archives.
1967
Rose Marie Roper Murder
Rose Marie Roper, who was a student, and worker at SJM, was brutally murdered by three local men Croft, Wilson, and Alfred Kohnke. The men were initially only fined a sum of $200 each for her murder.
Courtesy of the Williams Lake Tribune
Courtesy of the Williams Lake Tribune
1968
Gymnasium Built
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10-C-IV-7, Vol. 13383, file 962/6-1-014-5, part 1
The Gymnasium at SJM was brought in from Air Force surplus and constructed on site in 1968.
Photo: [Surplus R.C.A.F. Gymnasium, Cariboo Indian Residential School, Williams Lake Agency]
In the late 1960s, the residential school was renamed Cariboo Indian Student Residence.
1979
Band Council Resolution
In 1979, the Williams Lake First Nation put forward a band council resolution to support the return of SJM to the Nation. However, the motion was unsuccessful.
In 1980, the OMI refused to return the lands of the Onward Ranch to WLFN and instead sold them to the Onward Cattle Company.
Courtesy of the Williams Lake Tribune
Courtesy of the Williams Lake Tribune
1981
School Closure
The school at SJM closed officially in 1981, and students gathered to celebrate.
Courtesy of Sharon Shorty
1981
Cariboo Indian Education Training Centre in Operation
In 1984, the Cariboo Tribal Council takes over the operations of SJM as an adult training and education centre called the Cariboo Indian Education and Training Centre.
Source: Library and Archives Canada/RG10, Acc. n. 93-333 VFRC, Box no. 12, file E4974-1-D40, part 1
1988
Sale of SJM to Private Landowners
Despite the multiple requests from WLFN to return the lands, the federal government disposed of the land at SJM via public notice of sale.
Courtesy of the Royal B.C Museum
1989
McIntee Pleads Guilty to 17 Counts of Sexual Assault
Father Harold McIntee was arrested and convicted of 17 counts of sexual assault against students at SJM.
1991
Brother Doughty Convicted of Sexual Assault of Students at SJM
In 1991, Brother Doughty was convicted for the sexual assault of students at SJM, and is sentenced to 12 months in prison. (Brother Doughty is second from left.)
Material republished with the express permission of: Vancouver Sun, a division of Postmedia Network Inc Courtesy of Leslie Johnson
1991
Fifth Estate Documentary
The Fifth Estate interviews former students and staff of SJM. During the interview, O’Connor categorically denies any wrongdoing or sexual assault of children.
1992
Bishop O'Connor Charged Bishop Hubert O’Connor charged convicted of sexual assault and indecency.
Created by Oblate Fathers' Indian Record January 1972
Courtesy of OMI Dechateles
1993
BC E Division RCMP Report Released
In 1993, the BC RCMP Major Crimes division launched an almost decade long investigation, called Project E-NIRS, into residential schools in British Columbia.
1993-1995
Demolition of School Buildings
Coutesy of the Royal Canadian Mounted police
Coutesy of Christopher Blain
Bishop Lobsinger and Brother Spruyte Investigated, and Die in Suspicious
Plane Crash
In the early 2000s, both Bishop Lobsinger and Brother Spruyte were being investigated for crimes against children at SJM. They both perished in a suspicious airplane crash, in Whitehorse YT, that year.
Courtesy of Jean William
Courtesy of Charlene Stanislaus
2003
Fitzgerald Charged with 21 Sex Crimes Against Children at SJM
Edward Fitzgerald is charged with a total of 21 counts of sexual assault against children while he worked at both LeJacq and St. Joseph’s Residential schools between 1965-1975.
2021
Tk’emlúps Announces 215 Potential Unmarked Graves at Kamloops Indian Residential School
In 2021, the announcement was made at Tk’emlúps of the 215 potential unmarked graves discovered at KIRS, through using Ground Penetrating Radar on portions of the former school grounds.
After the announcement at T’kemlups, WLFN began investigating the St. Joseph’s Mission for disappeared and deceased children and unmarked graves.
2022
Prime Minister Trudeau visits SJM
In 2022, the Right Honourable Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, visited the former St. Joseph’s Mission residential school and announced a continuation of funding for the investigation.
Photo: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Trudeau Visit, WLFN, 2022
2023
WLFN Purchases a Portion of the St. Joseph’s Mission Site
In 2023, WLFN was successful in partnering with the Province of BC in purchasing back a portion of the St. Joseph's Mission residential school site, for protection in perpetuity.
Courtesy of Whitney Spearing
Photo credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Transfers to Day Schools and Other Institutions
Day Schools
In addition to Residential Schools, the Canadian government and Christian churches established Indian Day Schools. The first Day Schools can be traced back to the 1700s in Ontario. Unlike IRS students, Day School students remained in their communities and went home to their families in the evening.
In response to the growing discontent of Indigenous Peoples with the IRS system, the Canadian government created Day Schools on reserve to integrate Indigenous children into the public school system. In contrast to the earlier vision of separating
children from the influence of their parents, missionaries and policymakers reluctantly accepted that Indigenous children should be left with their parents for better educational outcomes (1). As with Residential Schools, attendance in Day Schools became compulsory in 1920.
Residential Schools continued to operate to provide education for those children unable to attend a Day School or public school. The churches continued to influence the operation of Day Schools. For instance, at WLFN, priests held church services on reserve, and religious dogma was part of the curriculum.
There were over 699 federal Day Schools in Canada, and 112 of them were in British Columbia (5). The first BC Day School, Redstone Meadows at Alexis Creek, opened in November 1943. Students from SJM transferred into or out of 15 of these schools. The first St. Joseph’s student transferred on record went to Anaham Day School, which opened in August 1944. Day Schools began to close in the mid1960s as Indigenous students integrated into the public school system.
Residential and Other High Schools
In the mid-1950s, St. Joseph’s students who attained Grade 9 were transferred to the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Many students from the St’át’imc Nation were likewise transferred to St. Mary’s Indian Residential School, in Mission. In the mid-1960s, students were transferred to Prince George College to complete their high school education before going on to other educational endeavours. No records are currently available for Prince George students.
Boarding Homes and Foster Care
The Indian Boarding Homes Program (1951–92) was an educational program in which the Canadian government placed First Nations students who could not be bused into town for high school with private families so they could attend school.
First Nations children who were deemed “Category 3” – children from families where “a serious problem leading to neglect of children exists” – were also placed in foster homes. “Neglect” was measured in nonIndigenous terms, as “defined in the
provincial statute of the province in which the family resides” (1). This practice led to more Indigenous children being scooped into the child welfare system and adopted into non-Indigenous households. Between 1951 and 1984, an estimated 20,000 Indigenous students were taken from families supported by a series of government policies. This mass removal became known as the Sixties Scoop. The removal of Indigenous children from families and communities persists today and is known as the Millenium Scoop (6)
Reformatory Schools
The Oblates at SJM sent “problem” students – students who exhibited unruly behaviour or tried to run away repeatedly – to reformatory schools in the Lower Mainland or on Vancouver Island. During an interview, one Survivor recounted a story about their brother:
I don’t know how many times [my older brother] ran away, and then one time he was talking about going to school in Nanaimo, and I said, “How in the world did you end up way over there.” And he said, “Because I ran away. We were running away too much, and they sent me to Nanaimo.” And when they got there, they told him, if you run away
from here, they’re going to add time on top (7)
The amount of time students spent in reformatory schools was determined by the Indian Agents or the juvenile courts under the Juvenile Delinquents Act (1908–84), which extended “delinquency” beyond adult crimes in the Criminal Code to include “sexual immorality or any similar form of vice” and cases of neglected, abused, or uncontrollable children.
Indian Hospitals (aka Sanatoriums)
During SJM’s early years, students who contracted measles, flu, cholera, chickenpox, bronchitis, scarlet fever, and meningitis were housed in the dormitories with little or no treatment. The Oblate brothers and fathers and the nuns often did not believe students when they said they were sick and forced them to attend school until they were too ill to get out of bed. In 1945, an annex was constructed as an infirmary for isolating students too ill to attend school (8).
In British Columbia, hospitals, like schools, were initially operated by the Christian churches. To stop the spread of tuberculosis from the Indigenous to the non-Indigenous population, three
Indian Hospitals were established in the province:
• Miller Bay Indian Hospital: opened September 1946, closed September 1971
• Nanaimo Indian Hospital: opened March 1947, closed January 1967
• Coqualeetza Indian Hospital: opened July 1941, closed September 1969
Students from St. Joseph’s were primarily sent to Coqualeetza, more commonly referred to as Sardis. They often stayed for months or years without any notice being given to their parents about their well-being. Some students died at the hospital and were not returned to their home communities. They were buried at the Chilliwack Cemetery, where they remained until the cemetery was moved to accommodate modern development.
The removal of Indigenous children from families and communities persists today and is known as the Millenium Scoop.
Modern Inquiries
Sts ’ lewts ne sk ’ mews ren stsmémelt
Our children stand in the middle
Photo credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
British Columbia RCMP "E" Division Task Force
In 1994, the Nu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council convened a meeting with the Port Alberni detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The community had interviewed over 100 residents, all of whom stated they had suffered physical and sexual abuse while attending IRS institutions in British Columbia.
The RCMP were already involved in a massive, ongoing investigation into a former student supervisor at the Alberni Indian Residential School. The detachment doubted it had the manpower to undertake an investigation of this magnitude. Following more meetings, the RCMP decided to set up the Native Indian Residential School Task Force, known
as Project E-NIRS. The task force had a single mandate: “To investigate every allegation of physical and sexual abuse that occurred at each of the residential schools that operated within the province of British Columbia” .
As the task force report outlines, two critical events preceded these initiatives.
Kuper Island, 1939. At 11:30 p.m. on January 8, 1939, the BC Provincial Police received a report that six boys had run away from the Kuper Island IRS near Chemainus. Located the next day, the boys complained that a priest had tried to commit an “unnatural” act with one of them. The police launched an investigation against the
express wishes of the Indian Agent and the Catholic Church. Investigators established that several of the school’s students had been sexually abused by staff members. Within days, priests and brothers identified during the investigation transferred out of the province. A lay staff member was fired. The district Indian Agent carried out a parallel investigation, but he insisted there was no evidence to support the allegations, despite the existence of detailed statements to the contrary. The bishop of Vancouver Island, eager to avoid negative publicity, supported the Indian Agent. The file was forwarded to the Department of the Attorney-General, but no charges were laid, and the matter was quietly dropped.
The RCMP task force had a single mandate: “To investigate every allegation of physical and sexual abuse that occurred at each of the residential schools in BC."
Alkali Lake, 1988. The Williams Lake RCMP carried out a second major investigation following a sexual assault investigation involving members of the Alkali Lake Band (Esk’etemc First Nation). During the investigation, one of the suspects stated that he had been sexually assaulted by a priest while attending the SJM school. Others from that community began to report similar incidents.
These two incidents combined with the Nu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council’s claim convinced BC RCMP “E” Division that these local allegations were the tip of the iceberg. They suspected that sexual and physical abuse within the IRS system was a widespread issue across Canada. It was the only jurisdiction in Canada to set up a task force rather than dealing with cases on an individual basis.
The task force had four RCMP members and fifteen investigators from eight subdivisions. Members had experience handling sexual assault cases and cases within First Nations communities. They took a five-day cultural awareness course that detailed the history of IRS and their effects on First Nations communities. They learned about institutional abuse, sexual assault investigative techniques, and victim psychology. Although the task force had a mandate to bring
justice to victims of the IRS system, communities and individuals didn’t trust the process. The RCMP found the mistrust surprising, even though First Nations communities historically mistrusted the justice system and the RCMP, whose members had once served as truant officers.
To its credit, the task force tried to implement a protocol that allowed for collaborative work and laid out the ground rules for the investigation. Negotiations began between the Ministry of the Attorney-General, the RCMP, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and Health and Welfare Canada. On June 21, 1995, they adopted an eightpage protocol for “Indian Residential School Abuse Support Services.” The protocol stated that Project E-NIRS would
• be a victim-driven investigation during which the RMCP would not seek out potential victims
• accept all disclosures in whatever form or context they were given
• give potential victims the option to make a disclosure but not proceed with a criminal prosecution
• be sensitive to victims’ vulnerability during the disclosure process and ensure absolute confidentiality
Most important, the protocol mandated culturally sensitive victimsupport services, namely, the Provincial Residential School Project, now known as the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS).
The protocol also dictated having a dedicated Crown Counsel to coordinate prosecutions. Every allegation would be forwarded to the Crown Counsel for a charge approval. A senior Crown Counsel and director of special justice programs with the Ministry of the Attorney-General took responsibility for all charge approvals. The investigation, while unique, followed guidelines as outlined in the Crown Counsel policy manual. Two criteria had to be met before a charge could be approved:
i. there had to be a reasonable likelihood of a conviction, based upon the evidence; and
ii. it had to be in the public interest to proceed with any charges
The task force’s final report stated that it often failed to meet this evidentiary threshold because of several recurring factors: the age of the offences, an inability to identify perpetrators, a lack of corroborating evidence, and the death of the accused or victim.
In these instances, Crown Counsel referred the case back to the task
force for further investigation. If the threshold was met, Crown Counsel forwarded the file to the regional Crown Counsel to approve and lay charges. The Crown Counsel later played a large role in the disclosure of RCMP files for civil litigation.
A critical component of the investigation was the identification, relocation, and review of historical records. Because the offences had occurred decades earlier, the task force had to locate records that could identify suspects and corroborate victims’ accounts. A civilian researcher versed in First Nations and missionary history was hired to research suspect lists and identify key record repositories. Some of these institutions (e.g., the United Church and the Sisters of the Instruction of the Child Jesus) freely gave access to records. Others refused or gave only partial access. Among the latter were the Sisters of St. Anne, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and the Department of Indian Affairs, all of whom were responsible for the operation and oversight of students at SJM. These institutions were served search warrants, a process that strained the task force’s limited capacity and resources.
Initially, the task force advertised the investigative process in the media. By 1995, it had received 45 complaints, and more came in as the investigation advanced. Each complaint was assigned to an investigator, who opened a case file. In 1997, the process changed: the complaints were sorted and transferred to the detachment where the school was located. The policy proved unworkable because regional detachments viewed Project E-NIRS as a low-priority. Throughout 1997 and 1998, staffing reductions hit the RCMP, and high-profile cases reduced the task force’s capacity to investigate.
In the meantime, dozens of civil suits were filed against the Government of Canada and Churches that ran the IRS system. The Department of Justice demanded access to RCMP investigative files for its defence of the Department of Indian Affairs. The RCMP viewed this as a clear conflict of interest and refused to release the records. In February 2000, Gary Bass, chief superintendent of the RCMP, appeared in the BC Supreme Court. He promised that the Kuper Island phase of the investigation would be finished by May 1. Project E-NIRS was once again a high priority. In May, Crown Counsel approved 42 sexual assault charges against Brother Glenn
Doughty. These charges would lead to the only prosecution related to Kuper Island IRS .
Following this prosecution, Project E-NIRS investigated offences by school. Once all complaints were investigated, the school file would be closed, unless an offender moved from one school to another. Those cases would be dealt with together as a package. After several search warrants were executed at their provincial headquarters in Vancouver, the Oblates agreed to provide basic biographical information on fathers or brothers under investigation.
Project E-NIRS came to an end on March 31, 2003, eight years after it began. The investigation took six years longer than intended. The final report was not made public.
“Final Report of the Native Indian Residential School Task Force” (2003)
Project E-NIRS investigated 974 separate allegations of criminal misconduct. Only 160 of these allegations proceeded to charges. The final report, authored by Constable M.W. Pacholuk of the BC RCMP, includes detailed statistics on the investigation and each individual school .
The statistics relating to allegations of sexual and physical abuse at SJM are staggering. Of the 515 allegations of sexual assault, 71 occurred at SJM school, placing it second in the province behind Alberni Residential School. It placed fourth highest among the schools for physical assault, with 44 allegations.
The nature of the allegations associated with SJM were unique in that the majority were sexual in nature. This may reflect the fact that these allegations surfaced in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the investigation only dealt with sexual assault allegations. But when the investigation broadened its mandate in the 2000s, the primary complaint continued to be sexual
assault. Unlike other schools in British Columbia, a high number of charges were laid because the suspects were still alive.
However, only 29 of the 71 allegations of sexual abuse led to charges, and Crown Counsel declined to prosecute 27 of them. Of the 44 reported cases of physical assault, none proceeded to charges.
At SJM, as at all the Residential Schools, the ratio of victims to suspects in sexual assault cases was roughly 2.5 – meaning that sexual offenders were “were very active and targeted multiple victims” . Charges were eventually laid against three Oblate priests and brothers who oversaw operations at SJM: Bishop Hubert O’Connor, Father Harold McIntee, and Brother Glenn Doughty.
Bishop Hubert O’Connor served as the principal of St. Joseph’s from 1961 to 1967. He was appointed the bishop of Whitehorse in 1971. He was charged on February 4, 1991, with sexually assaulting four girls and women who had been either students or staff at St. Joseph’s. His lengthy trial began in 1992 in the BC Supreme Court. Following several appeals, he was ordered to stand trial. He was found guilty of one count of rape and one count of indecent assault and sentenced
to one-and-a-half years. O’Connor appealed the decision. After a third trial, after he agreed to participate in a traditional healing ceremony in Alkali Lake, charges were stayed.
O’Connor made a formal apology but never admitted to any wrongdoing other than breaking his vow of chastity.
The SJM investigation team has since learned of dozens of allegations of sexual assault, rape, and coerced adoption involving young girls, O’Connor, and others connected to the operation of SJM. O’Connor died in 2007 of a heart attack.
Father Harold McIntee was a priest at St. Joseph’s in the 1950s. While investigating Bishop O’Connor, the task force heard allegations of sexual assault against McIntee and interviewed hundreds of students. In May 1989, an 18-count charge was laid involving the sexual assault of 17 male victims. McIntee pled guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of probation.
Brother Glenn Doughty worked at SJM as a boys’ supervisor between 1960 and 1967. In 1991, he pled guilty to four counts of sexual abuse against male students at SJM and was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Doughty was paroled until two more rounds of charges were laid in connection to the sexual assault of male students at Kuper Island. Eleven counts of indecent assault and buggery were laid. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years in a federal penitentiary in 2002.
Several more men were charged but didn’t stand trial or serve time. Edward Gerald Fitzgerald, who worked at St. Joseph’s from 1976 to 1981, was charged with 21 counts of gross indecency, indecent assault, and common assault. He fled to Ireland, which has no extradition laws. He died in Dublin in 2022 . Michael Flynn was charged with sexual assault at St. Joseph's in the 1960s. His status is unknown.
The final report detailed the following issues and shortcomings in the investigation:
• capacity issues, particularly dedicated resources to investigate allegations
• lack of a dedicated project budget, understaffing, and provincial government budget restraints due to high-profile cases such as the Air India bombing and the creation of the Unsolved Homicide Unit
• lack of trained supervisors with appropriate decision-making authority
• declining motivation as cases were left unsolved or failed to meet the evidentiary threshold
• the age of the offences, which rendered them hard to investigate because of lack of records or corroboration
• the requirement for corroboration, as set out in the protocol between RCMP and Crown Counsel
• the inability to identify and locate suspects
Project E-NIRS was pivotal in its investigation of allegations of abuse in the IRS system, but it fell short in many respects.
The SJM investigation team recognizes that only willing participants disclosed allegations to the RMCP. Many victims of the abuses being investigated were no longer alive or were unwilling or unable to testify because of compounded trauma and distrust of the RCMP. In many cases, the accused are no longer alive, or Crown Counsel declined to lay further charges.
However, the investigation team is working closely with “E” Division to review its files to help locate disappeared and deceased children who attended SJM school.
Photo credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Photo credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Alkali Lake Inquiry into Residential School
In 1997, at a time when empathy toward former students was scarce and apologies unheard of, the community of Alkali Lake (Esk’etemc) commissioned an inquiry into the operation of SJM Residential School .
The inquiry was part of the community’s search for redress from the Government of Canada. It was commissioned per Esk’etemc laws and jurisdiction when the community realized neither the federal nor provincial government would convene an inquiry on their behalf.
Esk’etemc paid for all aspects of the inquiry. Legal counsel and staff –including the commissioners, Grand Chief Edward John, Dr. Joseph
Couture, and Judge Cunliffe Barnett – volunteered their time. The Nation invited representatives from the federal and provincial governments and the Catholic Church to observe the proceedings, held over several days in May 1997.
The inquiry included nine affidavits from Survivors from Esk’etemc. Their testimonies, like Survivor accounts heard across the country, included descriptions of forced assimilation, physical and sexual abuse, humiliation, starvation, torture, and the disappearance and death of children. The inquiry made sure students’ oral testimonies were validated by the community and made part of the public record. The Alkali Band Council
knew that the Government of Canada and various Christian churches would eventually be brought to account for their crimes.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission
In 2007, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (the largest class action settlement in Canadian history) recognized the damage inflicted on Indigenous Peoples by the IRS system. It gave the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) a mandate to document the system’s history and legacy and draft recommendations for the federal government.
A working group was also established to explore the question of “Missing Children and Unmarked Burials.” The working group concluded that the following questions need to be answered:
1. Who and how many Residential School students died?
2. What did residential students die from?
3. Where are the Residential School students buried?
4. Who were the students who went missing?
To answer these questions, the working group proposed a four-pronged approach:
1. Statistical Survey: A statistical survey intended to achieve a precise estimate of student enrolment, including rates of death and disease.
2. Operational Policies and Custodial Care: A study intended to review administrative policies on death, illness, and disappearances of students.
3. Unmarked Burials and Commemoration: A study intended to identify the location of cemeteries and gravesites in which
students are believed to be buried. The project was to collaborate with communities to identify options for commemoration, ceremony, and further community-based research.
4. Specific Case Research: A project in which the Commission . . . was to help individual requesters to locate information regarding former students who may have died or gone missing while in the care of an IRS. Where possible, this would include locating burial sites
The working group concluded that more work needed to be done in collaboration with Indigenous communities. But the TRC’s final report did outline a few preliminary statistics and conclusions:
• 3,200 confirmed deaths (32% unnamed, 23% no gender, 49% no
cause of death)
• IRS students died at a far higher rate than children in the general population
• students’ bodies were normally not sent to their home communities
• school cemeteries tend to be abandoned, disused, and vulnerable to accidental disturbance
The group concluded that the Government of Canada never established adequate standards and regulations to guarantee the health and safety of IRS students. And to keep costs down, it never adequately enforced the standards it did set. The result was unnecessarily high death rates.
The TRC’s preliminary research revealed that mission cemeteries were used for clergy, townsfolk, and IRS students. Clergy and staff burials differed from student burials in terms of method, markings, and the placement and adornment of graves. The Department of Indian Affairs did not generally return the bodies of IRS students to their families and communities. The department’s policy was that school authorities should be responsible, and most deemed the costs prohibitive . The practice continued into the late 1960s. By then, many mission and school cemeteries contained dozens of
students in poorly marked or unmarked graves. The closure of the schools meant that many of the cemeteries fell into disrepair and were abandoned by the Churches and the government.
As our report outlines, the TRC’s preliminary findings align with historical evidence pertaining to the cemetery, burial practices, and treatment of student human remains at SJM and OR.
The TRC made several calls to action regarding missing children and unmarked graves:
71. We call upon all chief coroners and provincial vital statistics agencies that have not provided to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada their records on the deaths of Aboriginal children in the care of residential school authorities to make these documents available to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
72. We call upon the federal government to allocate sufficient resources to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to allow it to develop and maintain the National Residential School Student Death Register established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
73. We call upon the federal government to work with the churches and Aboriginal community leaders to inform the families of children who died at residential schools of the child’s burial location, and to respond to families’ wishes for appropriate commemoration ceremonies and markers, and reburial in home communities where requested.
76. We call upon the parties engaged in the work of documenting, maintaining, commemorating, and protecting residential school cemeteries to adopt strategies in accordance with the following principles:
i. The Aboriginal community most affected shall lead the development of such strategies.
ii. Information shall be sought from residential school Survivors and other Knowledge Keepers in the development of such strategies.
iii. Aboriginal protocols shall be respected before any potentially invasive technical inspection and investigation of a cemetery site .13
The Tkemlúps te Secwépemc Announcement
On May 27, 2021, Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir of Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc announced preliminary work had been completed at the Kamloops IRS site in relation the identification and documentation of unmarked graves.
Kúkpi7 Casimir announced that 215 potential unmarked graves had been confirmed through the use of groundpenetrating radar and the assistance of Dr. Sarah Beaulieu of the University of the Fraser Valley, the C7élksten ’ s re Secwépemc ne Ck ’ úl ’ tens ell ne Xqwelténs (Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc Language and Culture Department), and ceremonial Knowledge Keepers.
Kúkpi7 Casimir told the world that the Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc community always knew the grounds of the
Kamloops IRS were home to the remains and graves of missing children:
"We had a knowing in our community that we were able to verify. To our knowledge, these missing children are undocumented deaths . . . Some were as young as three years old. We sought out a way to confirm that knowing out of deepest respect and love for those lost children and their families, understanding that Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc is the final resting place of these children."
What followed in the days after the Tk ’ emlúps announcement would change the narrative and direction of investigations surrounding IRS institutions in Canada forever.
Government Responses
In the wake of the Tk ’ emlúps findings, the BC and federal governments announced the intention to provide financial and other supports for First Nations communities that had one or more IRS institutions in their territory.
The British Columbia provincial government announced the BC Residential School Response Fund. This fund is meant to “support lead communities to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried” . Up to $475,000 is available under this program for each lead community and can be used for the following:
• mental health and wellness and clinical supports
• traditional wellness and cultural supports
• archival research
• engagement with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Survivors, intergenerational Survivors, and families
• engagement with First Nations, local governments, and landowners
• procurement of technical expertise
• communication supports
• training and capacity development
• planning and project-management supports
• policy development
The BC fund is meant to work in concert with the Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support
funding, which is provided through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. The federal funding was announced in June 2021 to support communities to “locate missing children at Indian Residential Schools as identified in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement” . The federal funding is provided under three categories:
• local research and knowledge gathering
• commemoration and memorialization
• field investigation work
The WLFN investigation will continue to access these funding envelopes until work is complete at the SJM.
The BC Residential School Response Fund is meant to “support lead communities to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried”.
Memorandum of Understanding
The investigation team continues to work in collaboration with the BC Coroner’s Service, the BC RCMP, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Consumer Protection BC, and other experts to determine where – and under what circumstances –excavation of potential graves and the exhumation of human remains can occur.
Together, we have developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which commits to building a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities, processed and protocols, that will likely be used in the potential recovery, identification and repatriation of human remains believed to be interred on or near the SJM and
OR. The MOU is a first-of-its-kind in B.C., and is signed by WLFN, the British Columbia Coroners Service, the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, RCMP, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, and the archaeology branch of Ministry of Forests.
The scale, complexity, crossjurisdictional, and culturally and spiritually sensitive nature of work at SJM requires collaboration that recognizes and draws upon the authorities, capabilities and expertise of each of the respective signatories in order to ensure that future work can proceed effectively. The MOU not only outlines the signatories’ roles and responsibilities, but also defines the
guiding principles and joint objectives of this work. A task team made up of senior leadership from each of the MOU signatories will act in an advisory capacity, as we continue to work together to achieve these shared objectives.
As part of the MOU, the parties will work collaboratively to achieve the following objectives:
• develop a shared understanding of the views of residential school survivors and the descendants of the children who died at SJM and OR, as it relates to the potential identification, repatriation and protection of human remains
• facilitate access to archival records
• develop a process agreement that outlines the operational protocols and procedures that will be followed by the signatories, as it relates to the potential identification, repatriation, and protection of human remains
Throughout 2024, we will hold family- and community-engagement sessions on excavation, exhumation, repatriation, DNA testing, and genealogical mapping.
At this time, no definitive processes are planned regarding excavation. Engagement sessions will be completed before any decisions are made.
Photo credit: JAlexandre Tétreault Photography, Fire Circle - WLFN, 2022
Investigation into St. Joseph’s Mission and Onward Ranch
Sts ’ lewts ne sk ’ mews ren stsmémelt
Our children stand in the middle
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Overview
After the discovery of potential unmarked graves and remains on the grounds of the former Kamloops IRS, WLFN leadership appointed an investigative team. The team’s mandate was to respond to the call for an inquiry at SJM and OR and assess the scope of the investigation required. The team assembled a multidisciplinary panel of experts, and developed a threepronged investigative approach focused on
• Survivor interviews to document atrocities committed at the school
• photographic and archival research to identify disappeared and deceased students
• geophysical investigation to find unmarked graves and remains
This part of the report outlines our objectives, protocols, and the tools and techniques employed to date.
Photo credit: Whitney Spearing, Williams Lake, 2024
Objectives
The investigation’s primary objective is to help bring closure and healing for those who attended SJM and the families and communities who lost children to the IRS system. To meet this objective, WLFN resolved to
• engage legal and technical experts to develop, implement, and document a culturally appropriate community-based response, search, and repatriation of
• assert jurisdiction for all work related to the SJM and OR investigation
• facilitate a culturally appropriate, community-based inquiry into SJM and OR that ensures safety, promotes respect, and enables healing for affected communities and families
• utilize the profile of the investigation to educate all Canadians about the reality of Residential Schools and the impact they’ve had on Indigenous
WLFN recognizes that there are First Nations processes and Protocols for doing this investigative work that must be adhered to out of respect for the disappeared and deceased children’s families. The investigation team ensures that all team members, staff, and consultants are informed about IRS and engage in ceremony for the safety and well-being of the children’s spirits, for themselves, and for Survivors and their families.
The Research Ethics Protocol
The team has developed a research ethics protocol (REP) to guide the investigation and WLFN in their communication with other Indigenous Nations and families whose children attended the SJM. The REP recognizes that both the investigation and associated communications must adhere to the principles of tsetsét (accountability), ck ’ últen (culture), and xyemstwecw (respect).
The REP outlines ethical guidelines for safeguarding research data. Its primary concern is the safety, cultural health, and well-being of interviewees and their intellectual property. WLFN’s
foremost goal is to do no harm to the interviewees, their families, and the community. They will provide relevant information about the investigation to those who seek it.
WLFN will ensure that the research is respectful and culturally mindful. The design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, reporting, and distribution of the results will be carried out to the highest standards, both methodologically and from an Indigenous perspective.
The REP is grounded in Secwépemc legal principles and Protocols as well as OCAP® standards as they relate to ownership, control, access, and possession of Indigenous People’s information.
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Survivor Interviews
When the investigation was announced, many people stepped forward to give accounts of their experiences. The investigation team recognized early on that it needed to give these people a direct and immediate hearing.
The team created a “one-stop” email to schedule interviews and record information and tips about the investigation. With this email, people can also access health and wellness support while waiting for an interview.
Interviews are available to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. These interviews have helped the team find and collect oral accounts, photographs, archival records, geospatial data, and sitespecific information.
WLFN recognizes that Oral Telling is:
• Ts ’ ílem: the way things are or were in the memory of the holder
• Cwecwelpúsem: remembering the actions around oneself
• Lleq ’ méntes ell ta7ulécw: understanding that there were places one could not go to or boundaries one could not cross
• Lexeyém: telling one’s story as it is remembered
• K ’ elélnem: recognizing that one heard or witnessed what occurred and is acting on what one saw and heard
• Xyemstwecw: recognizing the respect one must hold for another
• Xqwenqwnéllts’e: recognizing that sharing should be kind-hearted and generous
• Q ’ ix te Melámen: recognizing that the medicine used in telling one’s story is powerful
Oral Tellings collected through the Survivor interview process revive traditional ways of recording history. They bring alive the experience of those who are no longer here to tell their stories and correct the injustices committed against those individuals.
The Process
The Survivor interview process is guided by the “St. Joseph’s Mission and Onward Ranch Investigative Research Summary and Consent Form.” This document contains an overview of the interview process, including
• opening and closing the interview with ceremony
• assurances of confidentiality and relating how the information will be used
• confirming the interviewee’s safety and well-being
• acknowledging the importance of the interviewee’s contribution
• outlining potential inconveniences related to the interview process
• providing assurances that the interviewee can withdraw without consequences
• reviewing and signing off on the consent form
The investigative team is flexible and recognizes that there is no one-sizefits-all approach to interviewing. The interviews are usually conducted at WLFN’s administration offices. But interviews may be conducted at the home, community, or other preferred location of the interviewee. The interviewees can visit SJM to help them visualize events or see significant locations.
The team takes audio and video recordings of the interviews, unless the interviewee does not want a video recording. The recordings are transcribed, and the recordings and transcriptions are stored at WLFN’s administration offices. Each interviewee is offered the opportunity to have their photograph taken and included in the investigation’s biweekly updates, which appear on WLFN’s website.
Once the interview transcription is complete, interviewees are asked to attend an interview confirmation session, during which the account is reviewed for accuracy and completeness and adjustments are made.
Summary of Interview Questions
The interview questionnaire was developed to prompt an allencompassing narrative of what occurred during the interviewee’s time at SJM.
The investigation team uses questions – including who, what, where, when, and why – to prompt responses or recollections. However, the primary concern is letting the interviewee tell their story in the manner most comfortable to them.
The investigation team also incorporates and uses the Four Directions to prompt narratives. Prompts include the following:
• the four seasons: spring/easter; summer; fall/return to school; winter/Christmas
• land formations: mountains, valley, creek/river, trees
The interview begins with a personal history, including date of birth, years the interviewee attended the school, and their parents’ and siblings’ names and birth dates. The interviewee is also asked whether their parents or siblings attended the school.
The interview is intended to capture significant memories of what happened to the interviewee and other students at the school. Interviewees are prompted to recall specific buildings and areas such as
• the main dormitory (offices, kitchen, chapel, dining room, laundry room, furnace room, sewing room)
• gymnasium
• day school
• outbuildings (barns, gardens, the powerhouse, and its tunnel to the main dormitory)
The interviewee is also asked to recount
memories of the lands surrounding the SJM such as Yellow Lake, Cummings Lake, Rocky Point, the railroad track, and the highway crossing at Highway 97 South and Mission Road, southeast of 150 Mile House. The interviewers use photographs to assist in this process and warn the interviewee about the potential triggering nature of the photograph content.
If interviewees give details about the content of the photographs, that information is then digitally transcribed onto a copy of the photo. If interviewees provide geospatial data, or map locations, that information is then recorded using a direct-to-digital GIS (geographic information system) application. These photographs and maps are stored along with the interviewee file and compiled for further analysis.
The team pays particular attention to identifying areas where people witnessed
• clandestine burials
• school staff digging burial sites
• the disposal of ashes from incinerators
• the incineration of human remains or babies
• the students’ runaway paths.
The team also collects testimony relating to conditions at SJM, including
• illness or admission to a hospital
• student pregnancies and coerced adoptions
• knowledge of deaths
• the disappearances of students
Photo credit: Lasha McIntyre Photography, Father’s Day Traditional Pow Wow - WLFN 2024
Engagement Strategy
The SJM Engagement Pathway is for First Nations impacted by the IRS system and people who might have children who disappeared or died at SJM. WLFN respects the Cultural Protocols and diversity of the various Nations who had to send their children to SJM. The team is taking a four-pronged approach focused on (1) Nations and leaders, (2) front-line workers, (3) families, and (4) communities.
Nations and Leaders
The engagement strategy includes Nations and leaders so WLFN can keep communities informed about and engaged in the investigation. The investigation team will work closely with Nations and leaders on these key areas of reporting and collaboration:
• plans to investigate disappeared and deceased students
• proposed protection measures for reflections
• plans for the geophysical work and reporting
• archival research started and completed
• Survivor interviews started and completed
• commemoration activities
Front-Line Workers
Engaging with front-line workers is critical to aligning mental health, trauma, and cultural wellness supports throughout the investigation. The investigation team will engage with mental health workers, alcohol and drug counsellors, health directors, and regional health-treatment services to
collaborate and create a network of health supports within families and communities. Based on the availability of staff and community needs, WLFN will coordinate several sessions per year. Key areas of collaboration will include
• reviewing plans for investigative research
• health supports surrounding the public release of results and information
• connecting and networking between local wellness centres and community investigations
• networking with front-line workers based in the communities of former students
• discussing financial resources available through the First National Health Authority and other organizations to establish longterm, sustainable supports
Families
WLFN honours the families whose children attended SJM. Importantly, there are families whose children disappeared or died while attending the school. Proper identification of disappeared and deceased children requires in-depth work with families. The engagement strategy respects the familial right to directly engage in the investigation into their loved one.
Moving forward, the investigation team will be working toward identifying families who have missing and deceased children. Key areas of collaboration will include
• facilitating genealogy mapping, including links to DNA analysis
• sharing archival documents and photographs regarding disappeared and deceased children
• coordinating mental and cultural health supports with front-line workers
• discussing preferences for memorial activities, including potential excavation, exhumation, and repatriation to the community or elsewhere
Communities
Individual community-engagement sessions have been held throughout the investigation on an as-needed or as-requested basis. Moving forward, the team will engage with individual communities to understand and meet their needs for memorial, commemorative, and healing-based activities. These community-engagement sessions will be facilitated as requested by leaders and communities and provide an opportunity to
• connect families and children to understand the intergenerational impacts of Residential Schools
• connect Survivors with front-line workers within their community
• connect Survivors to one another to provide support and share pictures and memories
• discuss the best way to memorialize, commemorate, and pursue justice for Survivors and disappeared and deceased students
• provide a forum for communities to ask questions about the investigation and interact with the investigation team
The investigation team is in contact with the Stó:lō Nation Chiefs Council regarding SJM students who were sent to Sardis, also known as Coqualeetza Indian Hospital. These students include children who never returned to SJM or home and who may be buried at Sardis.
Photo credit: Kiera Elise Photography, Father’s Day Traditional Pow Wow - WLFN 2023
Archival Research
Archival and photographic evidence is a crucial part of research into the SJM and OR. Unfortunately, as is the case with many former Residential Schools, these records and photographs are scattered in multiple archives and institutions, and many have been intentionally destroyed or have deteriorated.
The team has worked to identify, locate, and gather all records and photographs related to SJM. The following collections of archival records have been reviewed:
• Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Deschâtelets-NDC Archives, Montreal, QC
• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Winnipeg, MB
• Royal British Columbia Museum and Archives, Victoria, BC
• RCMP “E” Division Major Crimes Unit, Burnaby, BC
• Library and Archives Canada, Burnaby, BC
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
• Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin, Williams Lake, BC
The largest collections are located in the Oblate archives in Montreal, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, and the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. But documents have also been located in private collections.
To review the material, team members travelled to most of the institutions and executed agreements related to the records’ access, use, and distribution. The team reviewed many records, but encountered significant challenges, including the following:
• Locating records: Collections are only partial. Some records
are either missing or have been destroyed. Collections may be fragmented among multiple institutions, meaning multiple institutions must be consulted.
• Physical condition: Historical records can be physically fragile. They require specialized handling and care when they’re being reviewed or digitized. Photographs come in different mediums, including negatives, slides, or glass plates, which need specialized handling and treatment.
• Digitization: Records might be located and in decent physical condition, but until they’ve been digitized, they must be viewed in person.
• Translation: Many records relating to Residential Schools were not written in English. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate, for example, kept records in French and, in some cases, Latin. These records require special care and consideration to get an accurate translation.
• Privacy considerations: Some Residential School records are protected by privacy legislation, including the federal Privacy Act and other provincial legislation. Information such as school attendance and medical records may be redacted or removed before review. Although some redactions can be removed over time, the process is complicated and time-consuming.
In the long term, WLFN plans to decolonize the archival material collected throughout its investigation. The Nation is constructing an archive dedicated to the SJM and OR. This archive will be fully digitized and made accessible and searchable online.
Phase 1:
The GPR data in Phase 1 detected 93 reflections that were classified as having either “high potential” or “low potential” for being human burials or graves based on their location, reflection type, surroundings, geometry, and depth below the surface.
Phase 2:
An additional 66 reflections were detected in the Phase 2 area.
Phase 2
Basemap: Maxar
Phase 1
Basemap: Maxar
Investigation Phases Maps
Geophysical Work
The purpose of the site investigation is to identify historical features, burial locations, and suspected unmarked graves adjacent to or in the former grounds of the mission and ranch and ancillary facilities used by the federal government or Roman Catholic Church.
The team began by reviewing historical and contemporary information about the area surrounding the mission, including
• traditional use data
• historical aerial imagery
• photographs
• land boundaries
• land titles
• eyewitness accounts
The team then defined a phasebased approach to groundwork. As information becomes available, the team refines the boundaries of the investigation area.
In each phase, the team performs the following:
• a pedestrian survey and visual inspection of exposed land
• aerial reconnaissance: highresolution aerial imagery and LiDAR (light detection and ranging data collection)
• development of an in-depth plan for the geophysical investigation, including
› ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to detect and map soil disturbances
› magnetic gradiometry (magnetometry) to detect and map archaeological artifacts and features
› electromagnetic-conductivity and magnetic-susceptibility profiling
To optimize the ground cover, the team divided the investigation area into individual GPR, magnetometry, and electromagnetic gradient grids of varying dimensions depending on the methodology .
The Pedestrian Survey
During a pedestrian survey, professionals walk over the land and document the landscape, the exposure type, vegetation, ground disturbances, and any visible features that might require further investigation.
When searching for human burials and unmarked graves, visual interpretation of the landscape is key. Humans use markers on the landscape (known 18
or remembered) to recognize and interpret their place in the world. Human agency and cultural rituals also shape how the dead are treated. For example, people may plant vegetation or place rocks, cairns, crosses, or other physical objects to mark a burial site. Knowledge of these markers can help professionals identify target areas. Detailed descriptions of the landscape and physical markers can complement the aerial-reconnaissance and geophysical surveys.
Our team conducted pedestrian surveys in areas with high potential and suitable environmental conditions for human burials and unmarked graves. Crew members completed the pedestrian survey in five-metre transects or paths.
Aerial Reconnaissance
The team used aerial reconnaissance to compare modern conditions to historical photographs. Historical aerial images form a bridge between conditions in the past and modern interpretations of the landscape based on high-resolution photography and LiDAR.
High-Resolution Photography
The team plans to collect highresolution aerial photography for the entire investigation area over the three phases. By comparing historical and contemporary images, they can note differences in vegetation cover and determine the location of property lines and the placement, installation, and removal of historical buildings and infrastructure.
LiDAR
This remote-sensing technique uses light to measure the earth’s surface from a drone or aircraft . To collect data, an instrument is attached to a fixedwing aircraft or helicopter. Drones can also carry the LiDAR unit and collect exceptionally detailed measurements. The data is then used to create a 3D map of the earth’s surface.
The investigation area covers a partially wooded area in a semi-urban setting that already had LiDAR data. The investigation team reviewed this data and found it helpful in defining the area’s topographic features. But detailed LiDAR was required to visualize the earth’s surface and identify suspected burial features and unmarked graves. A drone collected precision LiDAR from the Phase 1 and 2 areas in 2021 and 2022 and from Phase 3 in 2023.
The Geophysical Investigation
Following the pedestrian survey and aerial reconnaissance, the investigation worked with a team of experts at GeoScan to develop the geophysical investigation plan. The investigation’s purpose is to identify, locate, and document the following in each phase area:
• subsurface infrastructure and features that indicate human burials or unmarked graves
• building footprints, historical and contemporary farmland, irrigation ditches, roads, and other disturbances
Multiple surveying methods were used because GPR does not work in areas with unsuitable soil or heavy vegetation
Ground-Penetrating Radar
In this method, technicians attach the GPR instrument to a cart or other wheeled device that they then pull or push across the earth’s surface in a series of parallel lines. The instrument sends electromagnetic waves into the ground at different frequencies and reads the “bounce” off any objects the waves encounter. Different kinds of soils and different kinds of objects reflect waves differently , allowing
archaeologists to visualize what’s under the ground .
GPR identifies subsurface infrastructure such as pipes and building footprints with a high degree of accuracy. But using GPR to identify burials and unmarked requires specialized methods and experience . When a grave is dug, the earth’s surface and subsurface are disturbed, causing a shift in soil density and compaction . When conditions are ideal, the GPR instruments measure reflections from the grave shaft. Interpreting these reflections requires knowledge of archaeological geophysics. The investigation team employs a team of professionals from GeoScan to interpret the results.
GPR can’t determine with complete certainty that a reflection is a grave, and the method can’t be used to detect the presence of human skeletal remains . But it can certainly identify unmarked graves, especially in a formal cemetery, a known mass grave, or areas with optimal soil conditions. Conversely, negative GPR results do not mean the absence of a burial or unmarked grave, particularly if the burial was undertaken in secrecy and hidden. All told, GPR is but one tool in the investigative toolbox.
Two GPR instruments were selected as suitable for the investigation’s scope, which is between 1.6 metres and 2.5
metres below the earth’s surface:
• Impulse Raptor 45: a 450 MHz multichannel GPR system consisting of eight centralfrequency antennae. A multichannel system allows for fast ground coverage because it collects multiple parallel lines per swath.
• Impulse Radar 4080: a 400 MHz single-channel GPR system with a central-frequency antenna. A single-channel system has a much smaller footprint and is used for smaller survey grids and areas where access may be limited .
Magnetic Gradiometry (Magnetometry)
In archaeological investigations, magnetometry is used to locate and “see” buried metallic objects without having to excavate. In a search for burials and unmarked graves, magnetometers can detect tiny changes in the earth’s magnetism caused by disturbed soil . When a grave is dug and refilled, for instance, the topsoil and subsoils are often mixed. Topsoil has a slightly higher magnetic signature. When topsoil is mixed with subsoil, the grave shaft will have a different magnetic signature than the surrounding area .
A multichannel fluxgate magnetic gradiometer system was used to collect data . The system gathers data up to 1.5 metres below earth’s surface.
Within each survey grid, it takes a measurement approximately every quarter metre. Individual transects or paths are conducted every half metre, except in areas with high magnetic interference such as in the cemetery and around buildings, fences, and railroad tracks .
Electromagnetic Profiling
Electromagnetic profiling (EM) is a non-invasive method that measures the electric conductivity and susceptibility of the earth’s surface. It passes an electrical current over the ground and measures the ground’s ability to conduct an electrical current . Soil conductivity can change because of high or low water content or the presence of metallic or conductive objects in the ground .
In archaeological investigations, EM works much like magnetometry because ground where the topsoil and subsoil have been mixed conducts electricity differently . The compaction and distribution of soil in a refilled grave can also affect the ground’s ability to hold water, and differences in water saturation can sometimes be seen in the data, making grave shafts more visible in conductivity survey data .22
Results & Infographics
Sts ’ lewts ne sk ’ mews ren stsmémelt
Our children stand in the middle
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Geophysical Fieldwork
This section of the report details the results of our investigation as it relates to geophysical fieldwork, archival and photographic research, the creation of disappeared or deceased dossier (DoDD) files for students, and Survivor interviews.
The investigation began on August 30, 2021. The team gathered alongside community members, community leaders, and external contractors to initiate the work in a good way. At the outset, the team reviewed all the existing data, including observations taken during previous site visits, interviews conducted for traditional use, and historical aerial imagery.
Phase 1
During this phase, the team selected a 16-hectare area for survey that
encompasses the historical buildings and industrial centre of SJM. To delineate the boundaries of this area, buildings that still stand today and buildings visible on historical aerial imagery were used as markers. The Phase 1 area contains the following structures and areas of interest:
• the church and cemetery
• priests’ and boys’ dorms and the nuns’ convent
• barns, machinery sheds, and outbuildings
• cabins and staff accommodations
• laundry facilities
• Day School, dormitory, and gymnasium
• swimming pool and hockey rink
• corrals and paddocks associated with ranching activities
The team then developed a program of fieldwork that included the following:
• visual reconnaissance and recording of historical debris, disturbance, and areas of interest
• detailed mapping, photography, and transcription of burials and headstones
• ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
• magnetometry
• aerial photography and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to make high-resolution maps
The survey areas for each technique varied. Data was collected from a total of 99 GPR survey grids and 71 magnetometry survey grids.
SanJoseRiver
Rev 5 Investigation Area
The entire Investigation area currently encompasses 782 hectares of land in the San Jose River Valley, south of Williams Lake.
Phase 1&2 LiDAR & O rthoimagery Coverage
Phase 1 &2 G PR & Magetom etry C overa ge
Phase 1 &2 M agetometry Coverage
Phase 1 &2 G PR Coverage
This maps shows the Phase 1 & 2 investigation areas, and the survey coverage in each.
Yellow Lake
McGuckin Lake
Legend
Cummings Lake
Yel ow Lake
Mission Ponds
Legend
Phase 2
During this phase, a 130-hectare area colloquially referred to as “across the tracks” in Survivor testimonies was surveyed. Various archival documents refer to a clandestine burial ground used for deceased children from SJM. The area is bound in the north and south by railway underpasses, by the San Jose River to the east, and by the escarpment to the west.
Testimony given in an interview with a non-Indigenous informant helped the investigation team identify an additional area of interest. This area encompasses a portion of the lakeshore at Yellow Lake, south of SJM.
The two combined areas in Phase 2 contain
• cabins and structures built by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate
• a bridge from the CNR tracks to SJM
• historical roads, wagon trails, and the CNR tracks and right-of-way (formerly BC Rail and Pacific Great Eastern Railway)
• Felker Road (from OR heading south toward Yellow Lake and north toward Chimney Lake)
Unlike the Phase 1 area, Phase 2 wasn’t used as extensively for ranching or farming purposes. It includes steep
slopes, exposed bedrock, and bodies of water. These environmental considerations, along with field crew constraints, reduced the scannable area to 20 hectares.
Between April 14 and November 30, 2022, a team of two to three field technicians spent 59 days collecting data. The entire area was visually surveyed and subjected to aerial and LiDAR imaging, 10.4 hectares were surveyed using GPR and magnetometry, and 18.4 hectares were surveyed using magnetometry only.
Phase 3
In late 2022, we proposed a search area for Phase 3. This area encompasses land extending north from Phase 2’s northern boundary to the OR, on the western side of the San Jose River. Fieldwork for Phase 3 commenced in spring 2023 and was completed in November 2023. Data processing for this phase is ongoing.
Photo credit: Julie Elizabeth Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Archival and Photographic Research
TOTAL DOCUMENTS RECEIVED
As of July 1, 2024
49,689 NATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRUTH & RECONCILIATION (NCTR)
4,803 ROYAL BRITISH COLUMBIA MUSEUM (PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES)
2,861 RCMP – BC E DIVISION MAJOR CRIMES
1,691 ESKETEMC FIRST NATION
MUSEUM OF THE CARIBOO CHILCOTIN
1,500 WILLIAMS LAKE FIRST NATION
DECEASED TO DATE
As of July 1, 2024
NCTR (Phase 1 Research - Public Memorial List) = 16
NCTR (Phase 2 Research - Unreleased Research) = 12
WLFN Research = 27
Student Death or Disappearance Dossiers
Using archival documents and geophysical data, the team has compiled a unique file – called a death or disappearance dossier (DoDD) – on every child who died or disappeared during their time at SJM. How the DoDD is created and the information that might become part of that file is part of an ongoing process.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s Memorial Register is the culmination of decades of research and work to find and honour children who were lost at IRS institutions across Canada. According to its website, the memorial includes “those children who passed away within one year of being at a residential school and are considered to have remained under
the responsibility of residential school authorities.”
Within the register, every institution that operated under the IRS system has its own memorial register. The register details the names and the date of death of children under that institution’s care.
At the beginning of our investigation, the memorial register for SJM listed the names of 16 students:
NCTR Memorial Register Names
1. Celena Alexis
2. Augustine Allen
3. Alex Bob
4. Patrick Chah
5. Joan Eugene
6. Dwayne Jack
7. Marvin Jeff
8. Irene Johnny
9. Louis P. Johnson
10. Gordon Lulua
11. Jimmy Murphy
12. Kenneth C. Narcisse
13. Harry Patrick
14. Jackie Paul
15. Stanley Setah
16. Duncan Sticks 16
Our team began by approaching archives and compiling DoDD files for these 16 children.
As the investigation progressed, as more deaths and disappearances became known, we verified them through archival documentation and created DoDD files. If we couldn’t verify a death or disappearance, we added the child’s name to a separate list. The investigation team continues to seek corroborating evidence for these children’s deaths and disappearances.
To date, the investigation team compiled DoDD files for 37 children, more than twice the number recorded in the Memorial Register. The
information contained in these files comes from
• annual reports
• school records (enrolment registers and cards, attendance records, report cards, and permanent records)
• baptismal records from St. Joseph’s and surrounding parishes
• cemetery and internment records and registers
• census records
• government correspondence and memoranda
• ethnographic accounts
• genealogical information, including family trees
• newspaper articles
• the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s register and file list
• photographs
• quarterly returns – student residences
• registration of death documents (death certificates, return of death of Indian, physician’s certificate of cause of death)
As part of our family-engagement process, the investigation team will use the DoDD files to locate the deceased children’s surviving family members. The files will aid future excavation, exhumation, and repatriation efforts.
To date, the investigation team compiled DoDD files for 55 children, more than twice the number recorded in the NCTR Memorial Register.
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Community Maps
Communities who sent children to SJM
?Esdilagh First Nation
Ashcroft Indian Band
Bella Coola
Bonaparte First Nation (St’uxwtews)
Burns Lake Indian Band (Ts'il Kaz Koh )
Canim Lake First Nation (Tsq'escen’)
Coldwater Indian Band
Duncan's First Nation
Esk'etemc First Nation
High Bar First Nation
Lake Babine Nation
Lake Cowichan First Nation (Ts'uubaa-asatx)
Lhoosk'uz Dene Nation
Lhtako Dene Nation
Lil'wat Nation
Little Shuswap Lake Indian Band (Skwlāx)
Nazko First Nation
N'Quatqua First Nation
Penticton Indian Band
Seabird Island Band (Sq’éwqel)
Sekw'el'was First Nation
Seton Lake Band (Tsal'alh)
Simpcw First Nation
Skwah First Nation
Squamish Nation (Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw)
Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation
T'it'q'et (Lillooet Indian Band)
Tkemlúps te Secwepemc
Tl'esqox First Nation
Tl'etinqox-t'in First Nation
Ts’kwa’aylaxw First Nation
Tsi Del Del
Ulkatcho First Nation
We Wai Kai First Nation
Wei Wai Kum First Nation
Whispering Pines / Clinton Indian Band
Williams Lake First Nation
Witset First Nation
Xat'sull First Nation
Xaxli'p First Nation
Xeni Gwet'in First Nation
Xwísten First Nation
Yunesit'in First Nation
Methodology
1. The reserves for each Nation were selected by using the “band name” attribute in the Indian Reserves with Band Names dataset.
2. A watershed level was picked by comparing the size of the watershed units to the Williams Lake traditional territory. In this case, the Freshwater Atlas Watershed Groups data was chosen as it was the closest match.
3. The watershed units were then selected based on which had overlap with the reserves.
4. The selected watersheds were then dissolved by each Nation to account for the cases where a Nation’s reserves would span over multiple watershed units.
5. The result gave 1 watershed polygon per Nation.
This map shows the reported paths of children running away from the SJM, towards their home communities.
Texelc/Williams Lake First Nation Tscqcen/Canim Lake St’at’imc
Photo credit: Kiera Elise Photography, Fire Ceremony - WLFN, 2023
SJM Interviews
STATISTICS TO DATE
As of July 1, 2024
Interviewees = 64
Interviews = 55
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Intergenerational Trauma
A Day in the Life at St. Joseph’s Mission
The two stories that follow are meant to illustrate how children were removed from their families and taken to SJM and depict a typical day at the school. The stories are an amalgamation of Survivor interviews and other archival research and knowledge presented in a story format.
’
Lexéy
em te Cecécu7tem (Story of the Little Girl)
Where we came from, there was a man who owned an airplane. The Indian Agent would hire him to go out to the meadows way back in the country and pick us kids up. That man would get so much per head for every one of us. We always got excited to see the airplanes in the air and wishing to be on it so we could see down on the land. One day the man came to our meadow and spoke to my parents. He spoke to our parents about my brother, my sister, and I going to the big school and how important it was to finish our education. Because our people did lots of trade with this man, they kind of trusted him. The next thing we know, off we went.
The airplane landed and bumped around on the field, and this made us a bit scared, but it was also kind of fun. The man opened the door for us to get out, and the Indian Agent and the priest were there to meet us. We were close to the main village where our relatives started to live when the government told our parents the children had to go to school. We knew not to trust that priest because he was
very cruel when he punished the children at the small school in the village. He would even use a bat to hit the children or come up behind them to clap his hands hard on their ears on both sides of their heads. Sometimes, he punished us just because he was angry, and other times it was because we would make a mistake and speak in our language.
The priest put us in a car and said we were going to the big school where there were lots of children to make friends. The ride was long and there were places where the mud puddles were big as the car. We finally got to another village where there were these nuns in long grey dresses with a funny cover over their heads. We stayed there one night and then went to the big school. When we got out, the boys went one way, and we went the other way. That was the last time I seen my brother again for a long time. He was crying as I watched him walk away looking back at me and my sister. I started to run to him, but the nun in the black dress pulled me back and pushed me into the building.
The nun took me and the other girls up to a room where we had to take off our clothes. She then put this white powder on our heads. It burned my eyes and the scratches I had from playing in the woods. She used a brush to scrub our skin very hard and opened up my scratches even more. It took a while for the burning to go away. When we were done in the washroom, she took us to the room where there were all these beds lined up. She threw some clothes at us and told us to dress. My bed was by the window. It was strange to sleep by myself there. That night I heard this little girl crying, and I went to her and took her to my bed, and we slept together. In the morning the nun came and yanked her out of the bed and pushed her to her own bed. She told me never to do that again. But the little girl would still sneak to my bed, and then she would go back early in the morning.
We always had to pray to the cross, and then we prayed again before and after we ate. How many times we prayed and my wishes to go home never came true until I turned 16 when I could quit school. I never before tasted the kind of food we had to eat. My dad always used to hunt and fish for us. My mom used to go out and trap. We would eat the small animals in our soup, and she would sell the furs to the man with the airplane. My grandmother was able to grow vegetables in a big garden – even in the bush where we lived most of the time. It felt like I came from a rich land to this place where I was hungry all the time. The clothes and boots did not keep me warm. The wind seemed to blow harder at the school then my home where the snow was deep in the wintertime.
When I got lonely, I would sneak in the dark and look at the stars out the window by my bed. One night I heard a door open and close hard, so I got up to look and see who was out there. I seen these two nuns. One was carrying a bundle all wrapped up, and she took it and threw it in the big barrel where they burned garbage. I did not know what that bundle
was and why they were going out at night. The next day the older girls were talking about this girl who had a baby, and it was taken away from her. That girl was sent away, and we never seen her again. After that I was so afraid of the dark and sleeping by the window. I started to wet my bed. The nun would make me walk in front of the girls with the wet sheet over my head. My whole life I wondered what that bundle was until I heard those awful stories of the nuns getting rid of babies. Who could I tell? Who would believe me?
Everything about the big school was bad, but every once in a while, there was a kind nun. But it was not long before she disappeared, after I told her what the priest did to me, and what he made me do to him. That nun used to sing for us, and she really liked riding horses. It was funny to see her on the horse galloping away and her black dress flapping in the wind. It was like we could not even laugh or look at anyone as we lined up to go to anywhere. Our face had to be straight ahead. I did not understand why I could not hug this little girl who was really crying all by herself in the playroom. She was just shaking, and when I put my arms around her, this nun came and yanked me away and threw me on the floor. The next time I seen the little girl, it was like her spirit was gone. She walked along not seeing anything or anyone.
I seen my older sister every once in a while, and we could only look at each other and smile and give a little wave. When I seen her one time, she seemed to be getting big like when women were getting ready to have a baby. I wondered, What is happening with her? How could she be that way when she does not have a man? Then she was gone for a while and kept on the fourth floor where the students went when they got sick. The older girls were talking about her and said the priest took her home because she was too sick to be in school. I never seen her again because me and my brother could not go home for a long time. The priest said it was because our parents were not able to look after us.
I decided I would run away and asked this other girl from my home if she would come with me. She was too afraid. So one night, before it got too dark after dinner, I snuck out the door and ran as fast as I could behind the building. I did not see anyone, so I ran up the hill and across the road. I waited in the ditch to make sure no one was coming after me. Then I started to climb up the hill along the bushes. When it felt safe to stand up, I started to walk as fast as I could. I knew the highway was not far from where I was, but it was so hard to walk in the deep snow with my piddly winter boots, and it was so cold. I thought I might die out there and no one would find me. But I finally got to the road, and ran across the highway, and stood there waiting for a ride. I got excited when car lights came toward me, and I put my thumb out. Then a priest got out and came around to me and said, “So, you thought you were going to get away from me, aye. Now you will see what happens to girls that disobey me.” My heart sank deeper than the snow, and the joy I felt in that one minute was wiped out of my mind. From then on, my life at the school was hell.
When I finally got home, my dad asked me, “What happened to you there? You don’t even know what to do, how to think for yourself. You have to ask me what to do every step of the way. My girl, you were so smart.” What could I tell him of the things I seen and experienced? Would he even believe me or beat me for telling lies? I did not know my dad or my mom anymore. I felt out of place, and going to live back in the bush was not what I wanted to do. As soon as I could, I left my community with one of the young women who lived in Vancouver. I thought maybe I will find my older sister. But life there was not any better, and it seemed like the men knew that I would give them what they wanted. Soon I was pregnant and gave my child up for adoption because I was not able to take of care myself let alone take care of her. Then I just drank and drank to hurt myself before anyone else
could hurt me. But the more I drank the more I was raped like at the big school. The men’s faces became that of the priest.
I often wondered when this shame will go away. When I heard about this process where I could tell my story and be compensated for what happened at the big school I thought, this might be the solution to get those pictures and nightmares out of my mind. On the one hand, the good thing that came out of that was going to a counsellor, and on the other, the bad thing was that going through that process was almost worse than the abuse because the government lawyer kept pounding with me questions to make it seem like I was lying. Through lots of counselling, I now feel at peace with myself because I know that I was just a child when I was being raped by the priest, and it was not my fault. The thoughts of killing myself have turned to a desire to make a better life for my grandchildren. I know I am telling the truth. I know what happened to me and the other girls. I know the priests, brothers, and nuns broke the own commandments of the Catholic Church – they killed the babies, beat, starved, raped us, and told us to keep quiet because no one would believe us. Telling my story has lifted the weight off of my shoulders. I feel good and want the whole world to know what they did to us.
Photo credit: Courtesy Jean William collection - Boys Bugle Band
Lexéy ’ em te Tuwíwt (Story of the Little Boy)
I woke up early one morning and had moose meat and rice with my Xpé7e (grandfather) and Kyé7e (grandmother). He had already fed and watered the horses. I was happy because I knew that today I might go hunting with him in the mountains past the meadows. Along the way he would be quiet for a long time, and then he would slowly tell me stories about the lakes, mountains, and the sky. I liked those stories because they taught me how to tell the weather. He showed me how to read the tracks on the ground, how to see far, far away in the trees and mountainside for the animals we were hunting, and where the animal would come out to offer its life for us to take. The thought of helping him gutting and skinning the animal, quartering it up, and knowing which one of the Elders would get the heart, the liver, and the delicacies like the moose nose or moose tongue got me very excited. I knew that we might even dry the meat while we were out in the mountain as I watched him get ready.
Then this car came on the old dirt road to our little house, the house where I felt warm, cozy, and safe. The car stopped close to the wood pile where I helped my Xpé7e cut the wood and packed it in for my Kyé7e to fill the cooking stove. Two men got out of the car and came close to where I was standing by my Xpé7e. Right away, I got scared and hid behind his legs. The one with the yellow hair talked to my Xpé7e in a strange language. His hands kept flying in the air and pointing off to the distance. My Xpé7e spoke the same language and kept shaking his head. I knew that meant stop, because all he had to do to tell me what I was doing was not right was look at me and shake his head the same way, but slowly back and forth.
The man with the yellow hair stepped forward to grab me, and my Xpe7e blocked him and held me safely behind him. I looked over to the house and wanted to run to the door
and seen my Kyé7e looking out the window with her hand to her mouth. Then the other man with the funny hat and a small gun in a holster on his hip stepped forward and talked to my Xpé7e in a loud voice. Their voices got louder, and my Kyé7e came out to get me. She and my Xpé7e talked in Secwepemctsín, and then they told me that I would have to go with the men so I could go to a school. Xpé7e told me in Secwepemctsín I had to go with the men, or he might get locked up in jail far away from our little house, and he would not be there to look after Kyé7e. My heart started pounding, and tears just covered my face, my legs would not move. The man in the funny hat picked me up and put me in the car and snapped the button on the door. They both got in the front and drove away.
The last I seen of my Xpé7e and Kyé7e was them standing in the front of our little house watching me go away. I watched them until I could see them no more. Something must have happened to me, because when I could not see them anymore it was like I could not see or hear or feel. Then all of a sudden I woke up in this strange place with a lot of other children, on a bed that was not mine. My Xpé7e and Kyé7e were not there. My buckskin clothes were gone – no pants, no shirt, and no moccasins. Even my hair was cut way up to my head. I felt naked with my neck showing, and no hair.
There were men in black clothes who talked the same way as the man with the yellow hair and the one with the funny hat. Right away, I did not feel safe. When my cousin, who I knew from my homeland came to talk to me in Secwpemctsín to tell me I could not speak my language, the man in black came to us right way. My cousin started to talk to him and nodded his head toward me. When my cousin and I were alone, he started to teach me the new language and warned me not to get caught talking the Secwepemctsín. But, when I got
really excited or scared, I started talking Secwepemctsín right away. That is when the man in black grabbed me and brought me in front of everyone and started to hit my hands with a big strap. It hurt so bad, and I cried out loud with each hit. After he finished, I bowed my head with tears running down my face and looked at my hands all red and burning. I did not know why he did that. I was so hurt. My Xpé7e only ever shook his head at me, and my Kyé7e told me stories of what happened to the animals or birds if they did not take care of one another. I wanted them so bad, them and my little house and the warm bed.
My cousin asked me one day if I wanted to go home with him, and I said yes. He told me we would run away over the mountain until we got to a road that he knew would take us home. He told me to save little bits of bread to take with us, and the day we were going to leave he would give me the signal – a nod like when my Xpé7e told me I was doing good. One day in the playground when everyone was playing and shouting, he gave me the nod. We slowly made our way across the meadow crouching down to the ground and running like when the animals are hunting. Our hearts were beating so fast. I tasted something strange in my mouth. I later came to know that taste was fear. When we were out of sight I had to stop and throw up. It was getting dark, and I was getting afraid, but my cousin put his arms around me and said everything would be okay.
We stopped and ate the bread and found some berries still clinging to the bushes. Then he told me we could lay down and rest. I felt this hand shaking me, and I thought it was my cousin telling me it was time to get up and go. But it was a man in a cowboy hat and another man who I knew was a workman. For a while we had to walk in front of them as they rode their horses, but then they made us get behind them, and galloped all the way back to the mission. When we got back to the mission, the other boys looked at us and then
down right away. The man in black took me and my cousin to the place where we washed up. There were two chairs there, and we were told to take off our clothes and bend over the chair. The man in black strapped us all the way down our backs, on our bum, and down our legs. I had never felt pain like that before, and this feeling came over me that I did not know. Everything turned red and my mind stopped. When the beating was over, the boys who had to stand in a row behind us and watch were told to go. I hung onto the chair looking at the floor feeling the burning all along my back. The man in black told us to get up and get dressed. When I made it to get up, I looked at him I knew he was the Steq ’ míntens, the evil spirit my Kyé7e told me about in the stories.
For a long time, it hurt to walk, sit down, and even lay down. My cousin and I were sent to a room where a woman dressed all in white would make us take off our clothes, and she would put medicine on the wounds left by the strap. I grew to hate these men and this place. My Xpé7e and Kyé7e never taught me this feeling. But after that, all my life when I seen a man hurting a child or a woman this feeling would overcome me, and I would come back to the world only after I had hurt him as bad or worse. Then, after the anger went away, I would feel shame like when I knew what the man in black was doing to my body was not right. But the rage happened over and over again until I became a recluse. I shut out the world and lived in my own.
The
last I seen of my Xpé7e and Kyé7e was them standing in the front of our little house watching me go away... Something must have happened to me, because when I could not see them anymore it was like I could not see or hear or feel.
Next Steps Sts ’ lewts ne sk ’ mews ren stsmémelt
Our children stand in the middle
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Next Steps
As work at SJM and OR progresses, WLFN will continue to identify key priorities to advance the investigation and preserve the site so the mission’s damaging effects will never be forgotten. WLFN will redefine these priorities in response to the changing landscape of reconciliation and healing for Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia, Canada, and on the international stage.
What is abundantly clear is that WLFN and the investigation team must work collaboratively with communities, families, government bodies, and external agencies move the investigation forward. To that end, our long-term plan centres on three elements: safety, access, and healing.
Site Access and Protections
The lands that once made up SJM and OR were parcelled out to governments and private entities in the 1980s. Since then, WLFN has asked the federal and provincial governments for their return. Return of these lands will not only rectify their pre-emption, it will protect the site for the purposes of investigation.
WLFN is now working in collaboration with the Province of British Columbia to have all the lands returned. In September 2023, WLFN and the Province of British Columbia made a historic announcement. They announced that WLFN had purchased a portion of the lands. The announcement stressed that the return of these sacred lands “to the control and stewardship of Indigenous people is an important step
25
to commemorate the history and legacy of the residential school system in British Columbia” . Now that the land is under the control and stewardship of WLFN, the following steps toward reconciliation can be taken:
• The site can be properly recognized as a place of historical, cultural, and spiritual importance to communities and families whose children were taken away to attend the SJM school.
• The lands can be protected from future development, ensuring that Survivors, their families, and their communities can visit the site for cultural, spiritual, personal, or other commemorative purposes.
• WLFN can work with Survivors, families, and communities on a long-term vision and plan to protect and commemorate the site of SJM.
Planning is still in the early stages, but commemoration may include opportunities to reimagine the site as a place for reflection, remembrance, truth telling, and public education.
To reimagine the site as a place of healing, the investigation must be completed in a way that is respectful of and involves the families of disappeared and deceased children who attended the SJM school. This work may include completion of the geophysical investigation, and the excavation, exhumation, and repatriation of children’s remains to their families and home communities. It may also involve the creation of a memorial garden, ceremonial gathering places, and other features associated with community and family healing.
Geophysical Investigation
In 2024, the investigative team plans to finalize ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry work in the purchased land parcel and in the SJM historical cemetery.
Phase 4 of the geophysical work will centre on areas surrounding the OR. To complete this work, the team must have access to all areas that were used by the federal government and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate while the mission
was in operation. These areas include neighbouring ranch lands. WLFN will continue to work in collaboration with private landowners, the Province of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada to secure access to these lands.
Excavation and Exhumations
The investigation team will continue to work in collaboration with the BC Coroner’s Service, the BC RCMP, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Consumer Protection BC, and other experts to determine where – and under what circumstances – excavation of potential graves and the exhumation of human remains can occur. Together, we are working to develop a memorandum of understanding related to the excavation, exhumation, identification, and repatriation of remains.
Throughout 2024, we will hold family and community engagement sessions on excavation, exhumation, repatriation, DNA testing, and genealogical mapping. At this time, no definitive processes are planned regarding excavation. Engagement sessions will be completed before any decisions are made.
Survivor Interviews and Archival Research
The investigation team will continue to conduct interviews with Survivors and other parties who have knowledge of SJM and OR and the crimes committed there. Archival research will continue until all records and documents relating to the mission and its students are in WLFN’s possession. WLFN plans to one day develop and release an archival holding of photographs, records, and artifacts recovered during the investigation.
This important work will make records accessible to Survivors and their families and increase public education about SJM and IRS institutions across Canada.
Community and FamilyBased Healing
There is a pressing need to consider and plan for IRS legacy programs in the community and within families. WLFN is dedicated to providing support and resources in a way that focuses on future generations and breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Our focus will be on relearning, public education, and developing Indigenousled programs and facilities devoted to reconciliation.
These programs will take many shapes and forms, but they must continue in perpetuity so that true healing can occur.
The return of these lands will support the process of truth telling, healing and remembrance as it will ensure that future generations know the true history of this site and its impact on the generations of children who were forced to come here.
– Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, British Columbia
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When was the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in operation?
Between 1886 and 1981.
2. Have any human remains been found?
At this time, no confirmed human remains have been located by the investigation team. The team has mapped out existing graves in the cemetery and has used geophysical methods to explore where there may be unmarked graves on the former grounds of SJM and OR.
3. How big is the area you’re searching, and how do you determine priority areas?
Currently, the investigation team is searching 782 hectares of land. The search of the land is being conducted in phases, and there’s a strong possibility that the search area will be expanded over time, depending on our research and findings. Priority areas have been identified using a variety of methods, including Survivor testimonies, the area’s proximity to historical buildings, and archival records.
4. How many phases are planned for investigation?
The investigation has multiple stages and is currently ongoing. Because of the nature of the landscape, the geophysical will be broken up into smaller segments. But we will be conducting archival research and Survivor interviews during all phases of the work to inform the investigation and in response to the geophysical data.
5. How are you searching the area?
The investigation team is using a combination of methods, including ground-penetrating radar (GPR), magnetometry, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), aerial imagery, and pedestrian surveys. These methods offer the most comprehensive and noninvasive results.
6. What research have you done on missing children? Where are you looking for records?
The investigation team has explored and found photographs and archival records in numerous collections. We are working with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Royal BC Museum and Archives, the archives of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and other institutions to arrange access to records. We also work with individual citizens to archive and preserve photographs and documents in private collections.
7. Where can I access records of my time at St. Joseph’s Mission or other Residential Schools?
Individual student records can be accessed via the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website.
8. Where can I access mental health supports while the investigation is ongoing?
Please see the “Support and Resources” section of this report, but here are a few options.
Mental health supports are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at:
KUU-US Crisis Line: 1-800-588-8717
Indian Residential School Survivors Society, National Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca
Here are some additional health support links: Health Benefits: https://www.fnha.ca/benefits/health-benefits-news/ mental-health-and-wellness-supports-covered-byhealth-benefits
Mental Health and Substance Abuse: https://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/mental-wellnessand-substance-use
9. I have information that I would like to share with the investigation team. Who do I contact?
You can reach the SJM investigation team at sjmission@wlfn.ca.
Closure
Across the country, people are discussing and debating the purpose and possible outcome of the WLFN investigation and others like it. Some Canadians question the legitimacy of the investigation data – whether it be geophysical, documentary, or forensic. To those who are skeptical, the WLFN team emphasizes that there is an overwhelming abundance of evidence, and it is being compiled in an orderly, scientific way. As we progress with our investigation, more of this evidence will come to light.
Some Canadians find it threatening or uncomfortable that Residential School investigations are causing us to scrutinize our colonial history and acknowledge the damage caused by systems, policies, and institutions promoted in our country for generations. To those Canadians, we point out that the discomfort caused by a re-evaluation of orthodox history is an unavoidable part of bringing truth to light. It’s a necessary and healthy part of our evolution and growth as a nation.
The WLFN investigation and others like it across the country are giving all Canadians a real opportunity to participate in reconciliation. We encourage you to think critically about the past; to acknowledge when and where there was wrongdoing; to consider the consequences of that
wrongdoing for the victims and their families and how that wrongdoing has affected the physical, cultural, emotional, and spiritual well-being of generations of Indigenous Peoples.
Kukwstép-kucw to the Survivors and their families who have participated in the WLFN investigation, to the governments of British Columbia and Canada who have supported us, and to all Canadians who are reading this report, or following the investigation. We thank you for your interest, and we need your continued support to bring about healing and to make reconciliation a reality.
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
Support and Resources
WLFN Health and Wellness Support Staff has put together a resource package to support the emotional and spiritual health of Elders, youth, and families during the St. Joseph’s Mission investigation. We are here for you, and we will support you. Kukwstsetsemc (thank you).
WLFN’s Social Development after-hours helpline is available seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can call this number in times of crisis: 778-267-6677.
If you are in immediate physical danger, call 911.
24-Hour Support
Hope for Wellness Helpline offers immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention by phone or online chat. Call toll-free 1-855-242-3310 or start a confidential online chat with a counsellor at hopeforwellness.ca.
Indian Residential School Survivors Society, National Crisis Line is a service for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their Residential School experience. Call toll-free 1-866-925-4419.
Interior Health Authority, Interior Crisis Line Network is a service for those in crisis. Call 1-888-353-2273 for immediate assistance. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
KUU-US Crisis Line Society provides crisis services for Indigenous Peoples across British Columbia. Adults/Elders call 250-723-4050. Youth call 250-723-2040. Or call tollfree 1-800-588-8717. Learn more at www.kuu-uscrisisline. com.
Métis Crisis Line is a service of Métis Nation British Columbia. Call 1-833-MétisBC (1-833-638-4722).
Additional Culturally Safe Supports
Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) partners with the First National Health Authority (FNHA) in providing access to counselling and cultural and emotional support services for former students of Residential and Day Schools and their families, regardless of status. Call toll-free 1-800-721-0066 or visit www.irsss.ca.
Tsow-Tun Le Lum Society provides confidential outreach services such as counselling, cultural supports, and personal wellness programs. Call toll-free or visit www.tsowtunlelum. org.
Virtual Substance Use and Psychiatry Service is an FNHA service that provides virtual specialist support in addiction medicine and psychiatry. This service requires a referral from a health and wellness provider who can support the individual on their journey. The First Nations Virtual Doctor of the Day can provide a referral for anyone who does not have a health provider to refer them to the program.
The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and other organizations provide culturally safe and trauma-informed cultural, emotional, and mental health services to Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia.
Services Covered by First Nations Health Benefits
Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program provides access to cultural supports and mental health counselling for former IRS students. The program is available to anyone who attended a school listed in the 2006 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement and their family members. Call the FNHA Indian Residential Schools Information Line toll-free at 1-877-477-0775.
Mental Health and Wellness Counselling in BC may be eligible for Health Benefits coverage. Many prviders are registered to bill Health Benefits directly for services so clients do not have to pay out of pocket. Before booking an appointment with a counsellor, call 1-855-550-5454 or visit fnha.ca/benefits to check if they are registered and if the service is eligible for coverage.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Health Support Services is a national program administered in British Columbia by First Nations Health Benefits. Services are available to Survivors, family members, and others who have been affected. Call Health Benefits toll-free 1-855550-5454 for more information.
Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Program
This program provides mental health and emotional supports to eligible former IRS students and their families. The support is offered before, during, and after their participation in settlement agreements and includes
• common experience payments
• the independent assessment process
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission events and commemoration activities
Making the Program Yours
The Residential Schools Program aims to ensure that eligible former students of Residential Schools and their families have access to appropriate and safe mental health, emotional and cultural support. Services are offered, using a holistic approach, by a cultural support worker or a Residential School health support worker.
To request any of these services, please call toll-free 1-877-477-0775.
Other Resources
WLFN Cultural Support Staff can aid in traditional healing and wellness, ceremony, and the organization of traditional healers, and they can deliver medicines, sweat lodge ceremonies, and more to community members in need. Please contact David Archie at 1-778-220-7934 for support.
Three Corners Health Services Society Mental Health Support Line offers mental and emotional health support. Call 250-398-9814, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
WLFN Cwelcwélt Health Station and Social Development Offices
At WLFN, the Cwelcwélt Health Station delivers programs and steers the overall direction of Indigenous-led health and wellness in the community, on and off reserve. The health station offers:
• men’s and women’s wellness groups
• Elder support services and advocacy
• community social worker (community engagement, advocacy, and support services/connection to support services)
• counselling support services (children youth, adults, and Elders)
• medicine groups, healing circles, and support groups
Cwelcwélt Health Station
Open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (closed from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch)
250-296-3532
2780 Indian Drive
Sugar Cane, BC V2G 5K8
"SUGARCANE" Documentary
SUGARCANE premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary, and has since garnered over a dozen awards. Acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films, SUGARCANE is in theaters now and will stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
"A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, SUGARCANE, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities. Set amidst a groundbreaking investigation, SUGARCANE illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere."
- National Geographic https://films.nationalgeographic.com/sugarcane
Photo credit: Lasha McIntyre Photography, Father’s Day Traditional Pow Wow - WLFN 2024
References and Future Reading
References
1. Canada, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, vol. 1, Looking Forward Looking Back (Ottawa: Canada Communication Group, 1996).
2. Library and Archives Canada, Department of Indian Affairs, RG 10, vol. 6437, file 878-5, p. 1.
3. National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, “Residential School History,” https://nctr.ca/education/teaching-resources/ residential-school-history/.
4. Paul Stanislaus letter, Library and Archives Canada, Department of Indian Affairs, RG 10, vol. 6436, file 878-1, pt. 2.
5. Federal Indian Day School Class Action, “Schedule K: List of Federal Indian Day Schools,” https://indiandayschools.com/en/ wp-content/uploads/schedule-k.pdf.
6. Kristy Kirkup, “Off-Reserve Indigenous Children Say They’ve Been Forgotten by Federal Government, Seek Compensation over Child-Welfare System,” Globe and Mail, November 17, 2023.
7. Interview SI-024, by Nancy Sandy, January 15, 2024; and SI-024, June 26, 2022, St. Joseph’s Indian Residential Investigative Research.
8. “Quarterly Report Ending March 31, 1945, Williams Lake Agency: Education,” Library and Archives Canada, Department of Indian Affairs, RG 10, vol. 6439, file 878-17, pt. 1.
9. Mary-Ellen Kelm, Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia, 1900–50 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998).
10. M.W. Pacholuk, BC Royal Canadian Mounted Police, “E” Division, “Final Report of the Native Indian Residential School Task Force, Project E-NIRS,” 2003.
11. Arthur Williams, “BC Residential School Abuser Escaped Justice,” North Shore News, April 1, 2022.
12. Alkali Lake Residential School Inquiry, transcription, May 19, 1997, <archive or location?>
13. Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, vol. 4, Canada’s Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Graves (Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015).
14. “Burial Expenses,” J. D. McLean, n.d. [PAR-008816], Library and Archives Canada, Department of Indian Affairs, RG 10, vol. 6016, file 1-1-12, pt. 1.
15. Tk ’ emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops Indian Band), Office of the Chief, new release, May 27, 2021, https://tkemlups.ca/wpcontent/uploads/05-May-27-2021-TteS-MEDIA-RELEASE.pdf.
16. British Columbia, “BC Residential School Response Fund,” October 6, 2023, https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/ governments/indigenous-people/residential-school-response.
17. Government of Canada, “Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Funding Recipients,” https://www.rcaanccirnac.gc.ca/eng/1647884354823/1647884389372.
18. Peter Takacs, Will Meredith, and J Durrant, “Geophysical Survey for Archaeological Investigation, Phase 1,” confidential report to WLFN, 2022.
19. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “What Is Lidar?,” https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lidar. html#:~:text=Lidar%2C%20which%20stands%20for%20 Light,variable%20distances)%20to%20the%20Earth.
20. Canadian Archaeological Association, “Magnetometer: Recommended Data Collection Procedures for Locating Unmarked Graves,” August 5, 2021, https:// canadianarchaeology.com/caa/sites/default/files/page/ magnetometer_v1_aug_5.pdf.
21. Canadian Archaeological Association, “Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR): Recommended Data Collection Procedures for Locating Unmarked Graves,” August 5, 2021, https:// canadianarchaeology.com/caa/sites/default/files/page/gpr_ data_collection_v2_aug_5.pdf.
22. Canadian Archaeological Association, “Conductivity Survey: Recommended Data Collection Procedures for Locating Unmarked Graves,” December 13, 2021, https:// canadianarchaeology.com/caa/sites/default/files/page/ conductivity_survey_english_dec_13.pdf.
24. National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, “Cariboo (Williams Lake),” https://nctr.ca/residential-schools/britishcolumbia/cariboo-williams-lake/.
25. BC Government, “Williams Lake First Nation Purchases Residential School Site,” news release, September 25, 2023.
Further Reading
Augusta Evans, with Jean E. Speare, ed., The Days of Augusta (Vancouver, BC: J.J. Douglas, 1973).
• Elder Augusta Evans of Soda Creek recounted her life to Jean E. Speare. Her oral narratives read like poems. Her experiences at St. Joseph’s Mission appear on pages 17, 18, and 22. This may be the first account in a book of a Secwépemc person’s life at the mission.
Roland David Chrisjohn and Sherri Young, with Michael Marun, The Circle Game: Shadows and Substance in the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada (Penticton, BC: Theytus Books, 1997).
• Following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Chrisjohn and Young wrote this book to talk about their research. They believe their work may not have been depicted accurately. In essence, it was watered down for the commission’s reports.
Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire, Secret Path (Toronto: Wiener Art, 2018).
• This graphic novel by the late lead singer of the Tragically Hip and Jeff Lemire is accompanied by an album. It tells the story of Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack, a 12-year-old boy who died in flight from the Cecelia Jeffrey Indian Residential School 50 years ago. It may trigger a strong emotional reaction.
Elizabeth Furniss, Victims of Benevolence: Discipline and Death at the Williams Lake Indian Residential School, 1891–1920 (Williams Lake, BC: Cariboo Tribal Council, 1992; Vancouver, BC: Arsenal Pulp Press, 1994).
• Written at the behest of the Chiefs of the Cariboo Tribal Council, who started research into Residential School abuses, Furniss’s small but powerful book focuses on the death of a runaway boy and the suicide of another while they were students at the Williams Lake Residential School.
Agness Jack, ed., and Secwepemc Cultural Education Society, Behind Closed Doors: Stories from the Kamloops Indian Residential School (Kamloops, BC: Secwepemc Cultural Education Society, 2006).
• A curated collection of stories by former students of Kamloops Indian Residential School. A couple of the Survivors came from the Williams Lake area.
Len Marchand, Breaking Trail (Prince George, BC: Caitlin Press, 2000).
• The author was the first elected Indigenous member of Parliament in Canada. Marchand recounts his political career and details his experiences at Kamloops Indian Residential School on pages 9, 11–18, and 22.
Joseph Auguste Merasty, with David Carpenter, The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir (Regina, SK: University of Regina Press, 2015).
• Merasty’s memoir chronicles his experience at Residential School. As a retired fur trapper, he carried handwritten copies of his manuscript for years and told his family he was writing a book. They did not believe him. He contacted the dean of the University of Saskatchewan and asked to be put in contact with someone with a “good command of English” to help him write his book. This small but majestic book is the result. He wrote the book presenting evidence before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Edmund Metatawabin, with Alexander Shimo, Up Ghost River: A Chief’s Journey through the Turbulent Waters of Native History
(Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2015).
• This is Metatawabin’s story of his experiences at one of the worst Residential Schools in Canada – St. Anne’s in northern Ontario – a school famous for the range of punishments staff and teachers inflicted on students. Metatwabin tells of overcoming the trauma of his experiences at St. Anne’s.
Hilary Place, Dog Creek: A Place in the Cariboo (Surrey, BC: Heritage House, 1999).
• On page 222, Place provides a non-Indigenous eyewitness account of students being transported to the mission. Father Price is mentioned. This is one of the first accounts of a nonIndigenous supporter standing up for the human rights of Indigenous students sent to Indian Residential Schools.
Richard Wagamese, Indian Horse: A Novel (Vancouver, BC: Douglas and McIntyre, 2012).
• In this novel, Wagamese follows Saul Indian Horse’s journey from the horrors of Indian Residential School to his triumphs on the hockey rink. Both the book and the film by the same name may trigger strong emotions.
Margaret Whitehead, The Cariboo Mission: A History of the Oblates (Victoria, BC: Sono Nis Press, 1981).
• Whitehead’s book, primarily about the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, is the first book on St. Joseph’s Mission. The book includes a list of Oblate fathers and brothers stationed at the mission.
Photo credit: Laureen Carruthers Photography, Prime Minister Visit - WLFN, 2022
