shíshálh Residential School Survivors lead researchers to locate an additional 41 unmarked graves

For Immediate Release
August 15, 2025
Sechelt, BC

shíshálh Nation swiya (Sechelt, BC) –

shíshálh Nation is saddened by the findings of an additional 41 unmarked graves identified by archaeologists, bringing the community total to 81.

In 2023, shíshálh Nation announced the first results of the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scans within the areas in and around the former St. Augustine’s Residential School grounds.

“We are deeply saddened, but these numbers are not a surprise to us. We have always believed our Elders. This wasn’t a school, it wasn’t a choice, and the children who attended were stolen,” said Chief Lenora Joe. “We didn’t need the GPR to prove this happened; we always had enough proof to know.”

In the last 18 months, the GPR team has been scanning additional areas identified through the stories and memories of shíshálh Survivors.
The children who were forced to attend St. Augustine’s Residential School Institution are our shíshálh ancestors and shíshálh Elders, as well as the ancestors and Elders from 53 other communities, most in BC, but some as far away as Saskatchewan.

“As we share this, we want to protect our people and our community, and the other Nations whose children are directly connected to this,” said Joe. “We are not taking ownership of the trauma because that was done to us, but we are taking ownership of our healing, our message, and our future.”

“Survivors have carried these horrors, and the disappearances of their siblings, cousins, and peers, in addition to their own experiences,” said Joe, explaining Survivor accounts of children being led by staff into the forest in the middle of the night, never to return, and child witnesses who were punished for asking questions.

shíshálh Nation is working with the 53 other Nations whose children attended the institution and is committed to ensuring all Nations whose children attended are included.

“There are Survivors from other communities who don’t want to come to Sechelt because of their trauma from St. Augustine’s. They have bad feelings towards our community,” said Joe. “We understand because this trauma was done to us, and this is our home. We want to heal together.”

The GPR is one of many tools utilized by the shíshálh Archaeological Research Project. The comprehensive research includes interviews with Survivors, documented historical events, and ground-penetrating radar. This announcement reflects the entire project and all its components.

The shíshálh Archaeological Research Project has been underway for years in partnership with the team from askîhk Research Services.

“These findings and areas scanned were all driven by the experiences and memories of shíshálh Survivors, Elders, and family members,” said Katie Willie, askîhk Director of Operations. “We have been working with Indigenous communities across Canada, and Survivors’ truths play a huge role in guiding us in our efforts to support the Nations.”

Interview Requests:
shíshálh Nation has released this news release and a video statement for media. shíshálh Nation is requesting space and privacy.

Media inquiries can be sent to GPRMedia@shishalh.com. shíshálh Nation does not guarantee responses, as the Survivors and community members are the priority.

For members of the public who want to show support, shíshálh Nation requests:
· Wear an orange shirt
· Fly flags at half-mast
· Cherish your children and families
· Send an email to GPRpublic@shishalh.com

Quick Facts:
· The first residential school institution in Sechelt opened June 28, 1904. The school burned down on May 25, 1917.

· The second school in Sechelt opened on June 15, 1922. The school closed June 22, 1975, and was burned down on October 9, 1975.

· Residential schools were federally funded, church-run institutions that were born out of a government policy of assimilation. Children were removed from their families and sent to these schools so that they would lose their culture and language, facilitating assimilation into mainstream Canadian society.

· Lasting effects of residential schools include lateral violence, self-abuse, alcoholism, substance abuse, suicide, intergenerational trauma, mistrust of education, church, and health institutions. Survivors face lifelong challenges in interacting with authority figures and institutions and in accessing health and wellbeing programs due to negative experiences.