Investigation by Sto:lo Nation Reveals at Least 158 Deaths

An investigation by the Sto:lo Nation in British Columbia into unmarked graves and missing children has uncovered a minimum of 158 deaths, predominantly occurring at a hospital. However, representatives from the Sto:lo Nation Chiefs’ Council and the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre announced on Thursday that their work is still in the early stages and is encountering obstacles due to restricted access to information from the federal government and religious institutions involved with the schools.

This revelation is part of the nation’s “Taking Care of Our Children” project. On Thursday, researchers shared updates with Sto:lo members and the media regarding archival research, field work that includes the use of ground-penetrating radar, and genealogical investigations into historical sites of three residential schools, cemeteries, and a First Nation hospital.

According to researchers working with the nation, the documents indicate that the majority of the children reportedly succumbed to diseases like tuberculosis, while others were recorded as accidents. However, several records did not specify the cause of death. The records relate to St. Mary’s residential school, the Coqualeetza Industrial Institute, and the Coqualeetza hospital, all located in the Fraser Valley, and the All Hallows School in Yale, B.C.

Amber Kostuchenko, the project manager and researcher, mentioned that the records were sourced from numerous archives at 47 diverse locations nationwide. She disclosed that the information gathering is ongoing, and they have acquired approximately half of the anticipated 70,000 documents necessary to ascertain the circumstances surrounding their relatives’ experiences in these institutions.

“Of those 35,000 documents, we have only reviewed a small portion to date,” she said. “Even so, we have already found detailed information about children who died.”

96 deaths—mostly from tuberculosis or other illnesses—happened at the hospital out of the 158 that have occurred since St. Mary’s opened its doors in 1863.

Interviews with survivors, according to lead researcher David Schaepe, showed several atrocities committed against children, including sexual assaults, malnutrition, and covert burials.

“What we learned from speaking with only a handful of survivors is devastatingly traumatic and sad,” Shaepe said. “We heard cases of children being killed, we heard of the secretive burial of children who died, and the forced burial of children by other children.”

The St. Mary’s school’s original location was described by survivors as “a place of punishment and starvation,” and its second location as “a place of pedophilia,” according to Shaepe.

“We were told of atrocities,” he said.

According to Chief David Jimmie of the Squiala First Nation, the federal government has placed unneeded obstacles in the way of the researchers’ work, while religious organizations involved in running the schools have not offered their assistance.

Jimmie claimed that the nation’s efforts have been hindered by a lack of long-term financial support, a lack of access to essential information, and the shifting of lawmakers from important positions.

She claimed that during the 14 years Kostuchenko worked for the federal government as a researcher, a million-document database was built, and every student and employee is listed in those records. But she said that the researchers haven’t been given access by the federal authorities.

“Having direct access to the federal database and the information it contains will vastly expedite our research,” she said.

Jimmie said that the federal government is currently paying Native American tribes to duplicate the work carried out by federal researchers over a long period of time.

“It makes absolutely no sense,” he said.

Jimmie said that cabinet changes effectively force First Nations to start again after making progress with particular ministers because they are replaced before any significant work can be finished.

“The prime minister needs to demonstrate a true commitment to an understanding of the meaning of reconciliation by directly assuming the relationship with us,” he said.