Province to acquire burial-site property

WINNIPEG — A burial site for dozens of children who died while attending the Brandon Indian Residential School will be acquired by the province, the Winnipeg Free Press has learned.

Premier Wab Kinew will announce the province’s plan to protect Turtle Crossing Campground at a news conference in Brandon Wednesday to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The move is in partnership with the City of Brandon.

The graves of at least 56 children are located at the campground, the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation has said, pointing to a geophysical study conducted by an archeology firm in 2018.

There have been long-standing concerns from Indigenous leaders and community members that people were camping on the resting place of children victimized by colonialism.

The school, which was located about five kilometres northwest of Brandon, operated from 1895 to 1972. It used a grave site near the Assiniboine River until 1912, with grave markers removed in 1921 so the area could be transformed into a park.

The City of Brandon sold the park privately in 2001, and in 2007, it was acquired by Mark Kovatch and his wife, Joan.

In the years following, the campground’s owners and the City of Brandon said work was ongoing to locate potential graves, an effort spearheaded by Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, but many were unhappy with the progress and access at the site.

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Jennifer Bone, along with Chief Hubert Watt of God’s Lake First Nation and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee, called for the site to be protected under the Heritage Resources Act in 2023.

Bone told the Brandon Sun in 2023 that no progress had been made to access the campground and search for the graves of children who were forced to attend the school.

Some of the children were buried in the Turtle Crossing Campground and at a cemetery further up the hill from where the school used to be, said a geophysical scientist who has worked on the project.

“The archival evidence has revealed, at this time, 113 names of children who perished at the Brandon residential school,” Christopher Mancuso told the Brandon Sun earlier this year.

The remaining children are documented as deceased but their burial grounds are unknown, he said.

The announcement is part of the Manitoba government’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation.

Survivors and affected First Nations will determine future steps for the site.

» Winnipeg Free Press