Warning: This story contains distressing content about residential schools.
Northwest B.C. First Nation Nadleh Whut’en has confirmed the identification of potential unmarked graves at the site of the former Lejac Indian Residential School, located at Tseyaz Bunk’ut near Fraser Lake.
Earlier in May, the First Nation had said it would search the residential school site using both ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry to detect irregularities underground.
Lejac Indian Residential School operated from 1922 to 1976, impacting children from over 70 Nations.
Nadleh Whut’en's announcement on November 30 follows nearly two years of geophysical surveys that began after Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation revealed in 2021 that they had identified around 200 potential burial sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Nadleh Whut’en said the preliminary findings from GPR and magnetometry surveys at Lejac uncovered geophysical signatures consistent with burials. These results are part of ongoing efforts to locate and honour the children who died while attending residential schools in Canada, the First Nation said.
The survey, conducted by the guiding team of the Nez Keh Hubuk’uznootah project, which translates to "Let's Look for our Children" in Dakelh, covers a 142,500 square-meter area (about 27 football fields).
The research is a response to survivor testimony and archival records that suggest numerous children may have been buried in unmarked graves at Lejac.
During its operation, at least 7,850 Indigenous children, including day scholars, attended the residential school, which subjected students to harsh conditions, including forced labor, abuse, and the loss of cultural identity.
The school’s cemetery, where some graves are marked, has long been known to survivors. However, the recent surveys suggest there are additional unmarked graves that have not been accounted for.
“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,” Nadleh Whut’en Chief Beverly Ketlo said about the importance of these findings.
The Lejac Indian Residential School has had an active cemetery on the grounds since it was founded in 1922.
"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,” Ketlo added.
Ketlo said this is not just a thing of the past but the horrors experienced at Lejac are still very real for the survivors who lived through this "genocide.”
“Lejac relentlessly taught the children that they were inferior. They were forcibly taken from their families, lands, and cultures, leading them to believe that everything about their identity was wrong,” she said.
The geophysical surveys, which were conducted in winter 2023 and spring/summer 2024, used advanced technologies to detect disturbances beneath the surface that could indicate burial sites.
GPR sends radar pulses into the ground, revealing underground conditions, while magnetometry detects metal objects and magnetic changes. This data is being analyzed by two independent teams of experts and will guide future steps in the search for missing children.
Former Chief Archie Patrick of Stellat’en First Nation, a survivor of Lejac, expressed hope that these efforts would help bring justice to those affected.
“Lejac is still with me. I continue to deal with the upheaval of being taken from my parents, and the daily trauma of living at that place. But I am so pleased that the stories of survivors are finally being brought to light.”
The findings are part of ongoing work, and no immediate plans for excavation or exhumation have been made.
The guiding team, made up of survivors and inter-generational survivors, is overseeing the research and will determine the next steps.
The federal government has committed to funding these efforts, and an estimated 20 years of work remain to uncover the full truth about the missing children from residential schools across Canada.
If you are an Indian residential school survivor or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419.
