Former Shubenacadie Indian Residential School Sisters of Charity, Halifax, Congregational Archives (Photo: Parks Canada)
Researchers searching the grounds of a former residential school in Nova Scotia say they have not uncovered any unmarked graves of students.
The Sipekne’katik First Nation confirmed the news in a statement on Wednesday, saying the search did not locate any burial evidence connected with the Subenacadie Residential School.
Saint Mary’s University anthropologist Dr. Jonathan Fowler says his investigation did identify unmarked graves, but researchers believe they predate the founding of the residential school by about a century.
Chief Mike Sack says the search will pick back up if any new information comes forward.
The Shubenacadie Residential School operated from 1930 to 1967, and it was the only one in the Maritimes.
Efforts to survey the grounds began in 2019 and continued in June.
This comes after more than 1,000 unmarked graves were recently found at several residential school sites in Canada.
