Hundreds of unmarked burial sites have been found near a former residential school in Saskatchewan. The Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan issued a media advisory on Wednesday saying they completed a radar scan of the area around the Marieval Indian Residential School making the discovery.
The Marieval Indian Residential School operated from 1899 to 1997. The Roman Catholic Church operated the school until 1969 when it was handed over to the federal government. The Cowessess First Nation took over in 1987 and ran it until it was closed.
The First Nation says it has worked with experts, knowledge keepers, and survivors who attended the Marieval Residential School over the past few weeks to locate and identify unmarked graves at the residential school gravesite location. An official announcement is expected to be made on Thursday.