The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation has spent years digging in provincial archives, looking for death records of children from the time a residential school operated on the nation.
Now, it says it has evidence dozens of children died while attending the St. Francis Xavier Residential School that was operated on the First Nation in the Grande Prairie region.
“We were able to confirm the 82 school-aged children, with death records aged between seven and 16,” Sturgeon Lake Chief Sheldon Sunshine said.
“We found 202 children between the ages of one and 18 had perished.”
Those deaths cover a period between 1907 and 1961, while the residential school was open.
Nation members believe some of those children outside of the school ages may have also attended St. Francis Xavier, based off records and stories from elders.
“We can’t verify yet until we do the more detailed research on which of those children entered prior to age seven and which stayed later, so the number, 82, could be double that,” research coordinator Gloria Larocque said.
As Sturgeon Lake continues to search for its children, it’s calling on the government to help.
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The chief and council want Ottawa and the Catholic Diocese to share more records on any child who attended the school, if they died and what happened next.
“We’re still going to fight for our kids,” said councillor Rosalyn Goodswimmer.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) said it reached out to the nation to guide them in the best process to get the information they’re looking for.
“The records referenced are on LAC’s website in redacted form, as they are part of a previously released Access to Information package where personal information remains protected,” the department said in a statement.
“For requests of this type, when a researcher has specific rights and wishes to access records with personal information, they may make a request under Section 8(2)(k) of the Privacy Act for land claims, grievances and disputes where personal information would be released to them for this specific purpose.”
Meanwhile, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada said it is actively working with Sturgeon Lake to review the progress and discuss their needs going forward.
“Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada provided Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation with $2,174,150 in funding for 2024-25 and 2025-26 to further their initiative,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Global News.
“The Government of Canada acknowledges the important work being led by Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Survivors, and research partners to help identify and honour children who never returned home from residential schools.”
Sturgeon Lake says it will also discuss how it will handle possible unmarked burial sites.
A team from the University of Alberta conducted ground searches on the nation, similar to what other First Nations have done at different residential school sites in Alberta.
The team says it found 62 potential unmarked graves, but warns who — or if anyone — is buried there is not confirmed.
It’s part of different research approaches chief Sunshine hopes will lead to one goal.
“Determine the number of children who perished in St. Francis Xavier Residential School,” Sunshine said.
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And I bet they never got billed even one cent IF their children were buried in residential school grounds. Maybe WE ALL should send them a bill for every child they find. Fair is fair.
bring it on.
The group that came from Siberia claims they own Canada?!?
The money they got could have bought an awful lot of shovels. Instead of “digging in provincial archives” pick up a shovel and start digging the “graves”. Put up or shut up. Furthermore, the government does have all the records of each and every child that died while attending the schools. They say children that never came home, so why didn’t they call the police and report the missing children?
more bloody lies
Didn’t read the article…..same whining drivel as is always spewed by firnat. So convenient that when they ‘discover a grave’…they don’t allow it to be excavated for proof. Pretty much had enough of firnat’s antics to get more money from the Canadian Taxpayer!!!! It’s gotta stop!!!!!
I live near Dundas Ontario. A very wealthy place especially in the early days. The cemeteries of rich white people have many graves of very young children. It was just common back then that some children didn’t make it. I can see the possibility of the native children having higher rates of childhood death not because of malice but because they had no prior exposure to the diseases that were affecting them.
people died at all schools, white, blac, FNs, stop trying to play the victim card
LOL, finally found these documents that were supposedly hidden where? Like I even trust what these people say any more. Probably AI created messages. But here is MY POINT – how many white children and ADULTS as well passed away during these times that the NATIVES do not even seem to care about, ONLY THEIR OWN KIND. AND, after all taxpayers are FORCED by POLITICIANS to pay for their study will they sue us all AGAIN and AGAIN for what happened to EVERYONE during those times not just indigenous children in residential schools. Fed up with this whole residential school nonsense that AFFECTED EVERYONE not just indigenous children during all those times but natives blame all white people for times off mass illness, same with SARS and other viruses like covid.
How about stats on Indian children dying while in the care of their parents in teepees?
Lotsa prejudice remarks from a lot of settlers that came in and created this mess and still trying to cover it up. The more it’s covered up and pulling your little $100 tax pays for is another dental. You don’t like it leave our kanada and don’t come back.
Dig baby dig! If you have proof, show us. Pretty simple.
The policy of perpetual victimhood is not conducive to future well being.
The fake Chief Dan George – Cool story. You forgot to mention the white man aka the European settlers were riddled with disease when they hit the shores of Canada. Killing off Native people with their filthy diseases is the main reason why they were able to colonize Canada so easily
the government gave the tribe 2.1 million dollars for what?
Put up or shut up!
I am happy to loan them my set of shovels to expedite this process
If the white man had not fought for this land, and colonized it……somebody else would have, and all the First Nations would be extinct right now. So to all the First Nation peoples, maybe thank the White man for his money and your existence!
And he’s absolutely right. BTW approximately 45,000 to 48,000 Canadians die from tobacco use and smoking-related illnesses every year. This rate translates to about 125 deaths every day. Smoking tobacco was introduced to the white settlers by the First Nations people. Payback’s a b1tch ain’t it
…aaaand “Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is looking to Ottawa for funding” to further investigate.
The grift never ends.
Let me assist. The schools were bad.
Move on.
Can they just let this go, we got the point and happened way before most of us where around. Why should we pay for something we never did or were involved in-stop this mayhem now!!
Oh ,good let’s give more money , to the only ethnic groups in Canada who are so eager to sue country, we took this country from these backward embread cave people hundreds of years ago , didn’t even know what the wheel was when Europeans came here.
When are we going to stop feeding these usless people , time to stop paying for them Canada, stand up for f*** sake !!!
Give the data to qualified researchers and scientists – we can’t be expect to accept amateur allegations as fact.
There were death records. They didn’t “discover” anything. Not news..
Bet it was the Andes Hantavirus…..there, just doubled the money!
Were the bands not given millions already for harm done by residential schools “reconciliation money” as well as money to check and dig at land locations?
Yup, tuberculosis, influenza and the measles were rampant back then! It killed multiple children and administrators! That’s the real truth!
I would say their true goal is obtain more tax dollars from Ottawa. Without having to apply much effort.
Wording. Be very carefull with the rhetoric
Between 1900 and 1960 an estimate 500 000 people died of TB.. this story points to an average 3 deaths per year. With no evidence of where each attended. Still not one grave found. It’s pretty obvious what really happened.
in the early 1900s, nearly one in five (15–20%) children died before turning five, and almost 30% of all deaths occurred in children under the age of five. This devastating rate was largely driven by infectious diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and dysentery, which spread rapidly through communities prior to modern vaccines.
Fun facts:
– before residential schools, the indigenous would take their children with them during winter hunting. Many children died from cold and diseases living in tents in -35C weather
– the residential schools were created to keep the children warm and safe during the winter hunting which the indigenous thought was a great way to keep their children safe. It was like a daycare for the winter season
– there were reports of the indigenous not bothering to pick up their children in the spring since the mother was pregnant again and they had problems caring for all their children
I have evidence white children died in orphanages years ago from TB and other diseases.
More lies from Goebbels news supporting more FUNDING to FN for their lies.
Its an easy thing to fix. PROVE IT!
One easy way to solve the mystery. Start digging at location where you think the grave is. Then you will have your answer or at least part of it.
OMG 😱 people died at old time schools. How could that have ever happened. Must be a plot by those pesky white men.
Why, everyone knows Indians never died before those colonizers showed up.
If they start digging
and proving it with actual bodies that would be one thing … but of course they won’t do that. Just want more free money lol
FED UP WITH THEIR LIES, REWRITING HISTORY, WHINNINNNG AND FALSE CLAIMS!!!
Again with this fake indignation by natives. The Spanish flu epidemic went through in 1918-1920 That killed many people, including natives. That would account for many recorded deaths. – they went through the archives, and found recorded deaths. It was the native practice to not mark graves. And are the ‘unmarked grave sites’ or disturbed ground sites exhumed yet? There have been no unmarked graves found in Canada. Just natives who forgot where they buried their children. All to get sympathy and most importantly our money.
INDIGENOUS LEECHES LOOKING FOR MORE FREE HANDOUTS ! I END ALL this B/S IMMEDIATELY
TIRED LISTENING TO the SAME S H I T EVERDAY, EVERY MONTH, EVERY YEAR !!! CAN WE MOVE the F/K ON ?
Isn’t that what was said before? Then after how long until the massive band came out and said they needed more money? And they didn’t dig a thing, are we Canadians really going to fall for this again? It’s history, everyone did something we look at today as bad but they had to do it back when to survive, we learn from history to NOT repeat it, or has humanity forgot that simply knowledge bomb our forefathers repeated to their children so the same mistakes weren’t made.
It seems like the iq in the world not just Canada is dropping at such an insane rate that humanity will be closer to looking like the movie idiocracy and not something like star trek