A research team has found new evidence that may point to potential grave sites at the site of a former residential school near Fraser Lake.
Using ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry surveys, the Nez Keh Hubuk’uznootah project team has uncovered geophysical traits consistent with burials around the site of Lejac Indian Residential School.
Nadleh Whut’en Chief Beverly Ketlo shared the news at a press conference Saturday, Nov. 30.
“This is the work we need to do as a community to ensure that the truth can come to light," she said. "The work is hard and it takes a long time – and we are bringing information forward as we receive it because survivors have a right to know. For non-Indigenous Canadians, we ask you to respect this process as we come to know the truth. Remember – we have always known that there were children buried at Lejac because many of their graves are marked in a cemetery. I want you to ask yourself if your elementary school had a cemetery.”
Since its founding in 1922, the Lejac Indian Residential School had an active cemetery on its grounds. Matching archival records from the school to geophysical survey results has pointed to the possibility of several missing graves. This has added fuel to a search that has already lasted for nearly two years.
The former site of Lejac is now in the hands of the Nadleh Whut’en community which has been stewarding the site on Tseyaz Bunk’ut, Indian Reserve No. 4.
Former Stellat’en First Nation chief Archie Patrick began these surveys in the winter of 2023 in areas identified by former residents. The search involved an area of 142,500 square metres, about the size of 27 football fields.
“Lejac is still with me," Patrick said. "As a survivor of Lejac, I continue to deal with the upheaval of being taken from my parents and the daily trauma of living in that place. But I am so pleased that the stories of survivors are finally being brought to light. The guiding team is united in our commitment to uphold the spirits of those who suffered and ensure their voices are not forgotten.”
Lejac Residential School had students from more than 70 Indigenous communities across British Columbia, including from Lheidli T'enneh, with more than 7,850 children attending during its 54 years of operation from 1922 to 1976.
The press conference outlined how the school prohibited Indigenous children from speaking their language, fed them low-quality food and subjected them to overcrowding, in addition to taking them from their families and support systems. Often the parents of children who passed away at the school were not informed until the end of the school year, they said.
Four 8- and 9-year-old boys ran away from the school on New Year's Day in 1937 and were later found frozen to death on a lake.
Survivors of Lejac and members of the guiding team are currently working towards overseeing engagement with other former students to oversee the next steps towards identifying these potential burial sites.
Currently, there are no plans to exhume or excavate these sites in the near future.
