GRASSY NARROWS FIRST NATION, Ont. — The federal government is supporting Grassy Narrows First Nation with funding to research gravesites at the former McIntosh Residential School in Northwestern Ontario.
The school, founded by Roman Catholic missionaries, was located 30 kilometres northwest of Vermilion Bay.
It operated from 1925 to 1969.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller last week announced initial funding of $157,000 for the first phase of the research.
Grassy Narrows Chief Randy Fobister said "The stories of our members that attended McIntosh tell us that there are numerous unmarked gravesites there."
Fobister said the First Nation will listen to the wishes of its members and other First Nation communities throughout the process, including how to deal with unmarked graves once they are located.
"We will take steps to commemorate and memorialize the children that died while attending McIntosh Residential School so that they will always be remembered," he said.
Grassy Narrows plans to organize meetings for information-sharing and knowledge-gathering.
To date, the government has allocated $117 million to support First Nation, Inuit and Métis people in locating and commemorating missing children who attended residential schools, in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to Action 72 to 76.
