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Click to play video: 'Why Grassy Narrows First Nation parents must fight to keep their kids at home'
Why Grassy Narrows First Nation parents must fight to keep their kids at home

Mapping the missing: Former residential school sites in Canada and the search for unmarked graves

Late on May 27, 2021, the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc announced the finding of over 200 potential unmarked graves of Indigenous children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

That announcement served as a wakeup call, encouraging Canadians to acknowledge the realities of Canada’s Indian residential school system.

According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, at least 150,000 children were taken and forced to attend these institutions which were created to “kill the Indian in the child.”

Since then, countless First Nations communities across Canada have conducted similar searches, many using ground-penetrating radar, to detect possible burial sites at former residential school grounds, or have announced their intentions to begin their own search.

Click to play video: '‘Finally, people know’: Marking one year since revelation of unmarked graves near former Kamloops, B.C. residential school'
‘Finally, people know’: Marking one year since revelation of unmarked graves near former Kamloops, B.C. residential school

Global News has created a map using data from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to plot out former residential school sites across the country.

The map also indicates whether the grounds have been searched for remains or whether the searches are underway.

Global News will update this map as communities continue to make announcements.

Looking for more Indigenous news? Find our stories here.

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