Canadian researchers are attempting to solve a century-old mystery into the disappearance and alleged death of thousands of Indigenous students who vanished during the 1900’s.
Some 150,000 indigenous students were sent to Catholic boarding schools between 1883 and 1998 in an effort to assimilate the children into Canadian society. However, the institutions were ripe with cases of abuse and neglect. In addition, a 2015 report from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission described the practice as “cultural genocide.”
Research shows that the highest cause of death was suicide, fires, freezing, or illness such as tuberculosis or typhoid. Experts believe locating the student’s graves will be easy because the majority will be near the schools’ vicinity.
Some religious groups who operated the schools have yet to share their records, Ry Moran, director of the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation said, adding that although some groups, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, United Church of Canada, and Jesuits of English Canada, have offered apologies for the offenses perpetrated against the Indigenous people, the Catholic church has repeatedly refused.
— source telesurtv.net | 21 Oct 2018