Agency One First Nations Lands LP is honoured to provide an update on the St. Margaret’s/Fort Frances Indian Residential School Reclamation.
In December 2023 we advised that we had received some initial results from some of the areas where ground search activities were conducted in the 2023 field season. Those results indicated we needed to look in more detail at eighteen specific areas.
For two weeks in February 2024, a team of experts were mobilized to begin looking at the specific areas. To date, twelve areas have been examined. No unmarked graves have been discovered; all of the areas examined indicated past land use mainly related to farming activities at the Residential School. The remaining areas will be examined later this year once the environmental conditions, mainly related to temperature and drainage, are more favourable.
While we are extremely eased with the results to date, we still must conduct a lot more ground search, utilizing LiDAR technology, electromagnetic survey, and ground penetrating radar. As always, we will remain mindful of other tools and resources that could assist in the search. In the 2024 field season and beyond we will need to look at 75 + acres, which is inclusive of all the land that has been cleared of trees and brush along Highway 11. Additionally, we will have more results from the 2023 field season coming in the next several weeks.
Interviews with Survivors continue as it is their perseverance and knowledge that provide the strength and guidance to ensure all the children are found. We also continue to work on other research and the development of an archive system to ensure records related to the St. Margarets/Fort Frances Indian Residential School system remain intact for future generations.
