Researchers say they did not find any unmarked graves connected to the former Shubenacadie Residential School.
According to their findings, there are graves at the site but they can be reliably dated to 100 years before the residential school began operating.
Using sonar technology the site has been examined over the past few months following other recent discoveries of unmarked graves at residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Although none of the graves have been attributed to the school The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation lists the names of 16 children who died while at the Shubenacadie Residential School.
With many still seeking answers about the fates of those children the announcement that no graves were found in connection with the school has left the indigenous community with mixed emotion.
Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack said for many until they know what happened there will always be questions.
“I was very grateful that no children were recovered. And on the other hand, you know, I feel that there is something somewhere because a lot of our community members that are survivors are certain that people did go missing, that there are people there somewhere,” Sack said.
The research team working at the Shubenacadie Residential School site also discovered archived documents that suggest the graves they did discover belonged to Irish immigrants that lived in the area in the late 1700s.
