By Canadian Press

Launch of search for graves at former Yukon residential school triggers raw emotions

Jun 5, 2023 | 1:27 PM

CARCROSS, Yukon — A Yukon First Nations community has begun its search for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school with a ceremony that triggered strong emotions.

Yukon’s Residential School Missing Children Project says the first site of the search effort is the former Chooutla Residential School in Carcross, Yukon, where a company will use ground-penetrating radar and drones to locate possible unmarked graves.

The announcement of the search held at the Carcross/Tagish Learning Centre was accompanied with a ceremony of singing and drummed healing prayers, but it was interrupted by one woman who objected to the proceedings being on camera, saying the event was not a showcase. 

In an emotional statement, the unnamed woman came to the microphone and said the event was about the school’s survivors and the missing children, not to sing, dance and celebrate. 

Before the event was interrupted, Carcross-Tagish First Nation Chief Maria Benoit said the search is an important first step for finding answers and peace for communities that “have hurt for a very long time.”

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Officials say the search on the Chooutla site — one of four former residential schools in the Yukon — will take place over the next few weeks, although preliminary results may not be available for months.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2023.

The Canadian Press