London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Over 160 unmarked graves found on island where infamous residential school branded ‘Canada’s Alcatraz’ stood – indigenous group

Over 160 unmarked graves found on island where infamous residential school branded ‘Canada’s Alcatraz’ stood – indigenous group

In the fourth such discovery in recent months, a Canadian indigenous group has said it has found over 160 “undocumented and unmarked” graves on Penelakut Island, which once housed a residential school dubbed ‘Canada’s Alcatraz’.

Representatives of the Penelakut tribe confirmed that the graves had been found on the “grounds and foreshore” of the territory, previously known as Kuper Island, located in the strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the western province of British Columbia on the mainland.

In a statement to “neighboring tribes and organizations” on July 8, the tribe’s Chief Joan Brown and other officials noted with a “tremendous amount of grief and loss” that “too many” of “our brothers and sisters from our neighboring communities” who attended the Kuper Island Industrial School “did not return home.”

Stating that it was “impossible to get over acts of genocide and human rights violations,” the Penelakut representatives said, “We are at another point in time where we must face the trauma because of these acts of genocide. Each time we do, it is possible to heal a little more.”

“Healing is an ongoing process. Sometimes it goes well, and sometimes we lose more people because the burden is too great,” the statement read.


According to Royal British Columbia Museum archives, the Kuper Island Indian Industrial School opened in 1890 and was run by the Catholic Church with funding from the Canadian government. The federal government took over the school in 1969 and closed it sometime between 1975-1978. The building was demolished in the 1980s.

The institution has been referred to as ‘Canada’s Alcatraz’ due to its remote island location – similar to the infamous US prison – but also because of several documented cases of children who drowned while “trying to escape by swimming across to Vancouver Island, or floating logs across the water.”

The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, which records human rights abuses at residential schools and collects survivor testimonies, lists the names of 120 students who died while attending the Kuper Island Industrial School. The dates of death for 22 of these students remains unknown.

The center, located at the University of Manitoba, also noted that a survey conducted in 1896 had found that out of 264 former students at the school, 107 had died.

Steve Sxwithul’txw, a member of the Penelakut tribe who went to the school in 1970 when he was five years old, said the graves were not a “discovery,” but “something that was bound to be relinquished or unearthed in some shape or form.”

“It’s even hard to call it a school. It’s really an institution that did everything they could to take away absolutely everything we had,” Sxwithul’txw told the Global News outlet.

Under the controversial school system, which has been officially likened to “cultural genocide,” more than 150,000 indigenous children were removed from their families and forced to attend church-run state schools across Canada until the late 1990s.

In its 2015 report on residential schools, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified the names or information of more than 4,100 children who died in the system. However, the exact number remains unknown.

While it was not clear in the statement how or when the grave sites on Penelakut Island were found, the revelations are likely to add to public anger over the recent discoveries of more than 1,000 unmarked graves believed to belong to indigenous students at former residential school sites across the country.

In June, the St. Mary’s Indian Band uncovered 182 graves at the former site of the St. Eugene’s Mission School in the South Interior of British Columbia. Meanwhile, another 751 graves were found by the Cowessess First Nation in a cemetery at the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan province.

Later this week,the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation will release findings of a ground-penetrating radar survey of an estimated 215 unmarked graves discovered in May at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×