Kamloops residential school discovery: What answers lie in religious archives?
The Royal B.C. Museum is giving some insight into what information exists in the religious archives of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Genevieve Weber is the museum’s acting head of archives and has been processing records from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the missionary group that operated the school as part of the Catholic Church.
Weber says the archives were acquired “a couple of years ago.” Previously, the records were stored in an archive run by the oblates in Vancouver.
“When the oblates began to centralize their operations, they began to divest themselves of their records by donating them to appropriate public archives across the country,” Weber told CTV News Vancouver.
She says there are four other locations across the country with archives from the oblates, but B.C. has the bulk of the material.
In fact, Weber says the museum has “about 250 bankers’ boxes” full of records. Those include official government documents, letters, correspondence, daily journals, diaries and reports.
“Some of the records are written in cursive and some people had very good handwriting and some didn’t,” Weber said, adding she is “very adept” at reading the script.
In addition to written items, the museum also has maps and plans of the sites and the buildings, photographs and sound recordings.
The key question is whether the archives contain any records of deaths or burials at the site of the school. Officially, there were 51 deaths recorded. The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation believes the deaths of the 215 children it recently found buried in unmarked graves were never documented.
“The community has reached out and asked us to look for any records that might indicate deaths or burials at the school and we haven’t found any records that explicitly talk about deaths and burials,” Weber said.
Even though archivists have not finished searching through the documents, Weber believes that kind of information won’t be found at all.
“We are not expecting to find explicit mention of all of the deaths, as in our research so far, it doesn’t seem like records exist that speak directly to that,” she said. “But, we do expect to have a better understanding of the conditions and what may have happened to some of the children.”
It’s likely any additional records of deaths and burials – if they ever existed – were either lost or destroyed.
“That's quite common with the state of some of the buildings. There were floods and fires and all sorts of reasons why some records did not survive,” Weber said.
WHAT DO THE ARCHIVES SAY?
Weber believes the documents will give an insight into the “conditions of life at the schools.” That could include evidence of disease outbreaks like measles, as well as the conditions of the buildings where the children lived.
According to information already recorded by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, in 1910, the school’s principal said that the government did not provide enough money to feed the students properly. In 1924, a portion of the school was destroyed by fire.
Weber says the documents also include information about the missionary work that the oblates did in the surrounding communities.
“There’s information that speaks to the conditions in general for the Indigenous people of that region at various points in time over the past 150 or so years,” she said. “It also speaks to the relationship between the Department of Indian Affairs and the school itself, as there’s a lot of letters and communication and reports back and forth between those two entities.”
The museum is in the process of digitizing the documents, which is happening with the assistance of UBC’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.
“They have wonderful technology and the capability to safely store electronic records and share them in a way that can keep them restricted and private so that only the community members have access to them,” Weber said.
The first findings will be shared with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in the coming weeks. Weber says it will then be up to the nation to decide what information will be made public.
If you are a former residential school student in distress, 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
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
Correction
A previous version of this story misspelled Genevieve Weber's surname.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.