Possible unmarked burials found at former residential school in northwestern Ontario

A map shows the location of the former McIntosh Indian Residential School in northwest Ontario.

Potential unmarked burials have been detected at a former residential school in northwestern Ontario.

According to Grassy Narrows First Nation, a section of the property of the former McIntosh Indian Residential School was searched last month using a visual search and ground penetrating radar.

The First Nation said the visual search covered four hectares of land where a “significant number of potential unmarked burials were documented.”

They added that until further confirmation from survey data is obtained, they will not be releasing any specific numbers.

Grassy Narrows added the potential burials were assessed based on several attributes, including the presence of rectangular depressions between 55 and 245 centimetres in length, evidence of soil disturbance, and orientation of rectangular depressions in an east-west alignment.

A ground penetrating radar search was completed across 0.5 hectares of the property to confirm the context of the depressions identified in the visual survey.

Results from the ground penetrating radar are expected next month.

Children from five nearby reservations attended McIntosh Indian Residential School until a fire in 1965 forced its closure.

Grassy Narrows noted that additional searches of the property are planned but are contingent on support from the federal government.