Possible unmarked burials found at McIntosh Indian Residential School

Possible unmarked burials have been discovered at a former residential school in Kenora, Ont.

According to Grassy Narrows First Nation, part of the site of the former McIntosh Indian Residential School was searched last month using a visual search and ground-penetrating radar.

The First Nation said the visual search covered four hectares of land where a “significant number of potential unmarked burials were documented.”

They added that until further confirmation is obtained from survey data, they will not release specific figures.

Grassy Narrows added that the potential burials were assessed based on several characteristics, including the presence of rectangular depressions between 55 and 245 centimeters in length, evidence of ground disturbance and the orientation of rectangular depressions in an east-west alignment.

A ground penetrating radar survey was conducted over 0.5 hectares of the site to confirm the context of the depressions identified in the visual survey.

Ground penetrating radar results are expected next month.

Children from five nearby reservations attended the McIntosh Indian Residential School until a fire in 1965 forced its closure.

Grassy Narrows noted that additional searches of the property are planned but are dependent on support from the federal government.