Shingwauk survivors group await results from unmarked burial search

The Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA) is still awaiting the results from the first phase of its ground-penetrating radar search for unmarked burials on the former site of Shingwauk Indian Residential School. 

The search, which began Sept. 25, saw Norpro Environmental use ground-penetrating radar in an attempt to identify unmarked burials at the former residential school site, located on the present-day campus of Algoma University. 

Shingwauk site coordinator Jay Jones informed SooToday via email Tuesday that CSAA will hold a gathering for Shingwauk survivors during the first week of December in order to establish protocols around the search for unmarked burials at the Shingwauk site. 

Jones says the group wants to have protocols in place before it receives the results of the ground-penetrating radar scans. 

In early November, Ontario announced it is doubling its funding commitment to support searches for burial sites near residential schools, bringing the total spending promise to $20 million over the next three years. 

The initial $10 million in funding for burial site searches was announced by the province this past summer after reports that the remains of 215 children were found near the site of a residential school in Kamloops, B.C. - with a number of Indigenous communities across Canada announcing similar discoveries of unmarked burials in the following months.

The province has also confirmed that it will transfer death records of approximately 1,800 Indigenous children to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. 

The increased funding announced in November has prompted concerns from residential school survivors and Indigenous leaders about the allocation process for funds. 

“As far as search dollars, it's a sticky situation and I know that the Ontario government has to make some changes to the amounts and how it's being handled,” said Jones. “My main concern is not about the money at this time, it's about moving forward in a good way, addressing the needs and wants of the survivors I work with.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has estimated that at least 426 children who attended residential schools in Ontario are known to have died, with an unknown number still missing.

- with files from The Canadian Press