Raymond Frogner, head of archives at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) in Winnipeg, found the photos earlier this month when he was given exclusive access to the Oblate General Archives to identify the school’s records. He said the images are part of a series of early 20th-century photographs sent by priests from various institutions in Canada – including the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, where more than 200 suspected unmarked graves were reported to have been discovered in May 2021. “The pictures would give some clues about children who might have been known to be missing,” Frogner said. “If the photos are dated, we can actually get a clue as to where they were.” Shoes and stuffed animals on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential Indian School in British Columbia. (Ben Nelms/CBC) The series contains images of the field where the suspected mass graves are located in Kamloops, he said. The photos also include images of an unmarked cemetery next to the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. Many of the cemetery’s grave markers were removed in the mid-20th century. The cleared section of the cemetery was surveyed by ground-penetrating radar, which reported 700 possible graves. The Marieval school operated from 1899 to 1997 in the Cowessess First Nation, about 140 kilometers east of Regina, Sask. “This one will be interesting because some of the grave crosses at Cowessess have been removed,” Frogner said, adding that the images could help reveal when the markers were removed. An undated photo of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. (General Collection of the Saint-Boniface Historical Society) Although there are handwritten notes on the back of the images found in the Rome archive, he said, they do not identify the children photographed.
Images will be digitized
NCTR hopes to identify as many of the children in the photos as possible by digitizing the images and sharing them with Indigenous communities. “It’s good news that the photos exist and that they’ve come to light,” said Marie Wilson, one of three commissioners who served on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “It will be a treasure. I hope it’s not too late to serve the healing role it could play.” WATCHES | Newly found images could provide clues to missing children
Former TRC commissioner reacts to discovery of rare photos of school houses
Marie Wilson, one of three commissioners who served on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, reflects on the significance of recently discovered photographs of the residential school system hidden in Rome. Wilson said she is troubled by how long it took for the images to be revealed and hopes the photos can be copied and shared as soon as possible. “I think that has to happen until full completion and then we have to keep looking,” Wilson said. “No more holding back.” Frogner said that during the five days he spent poring over some 200 years of Oblate records, he also saw the personnel files of priests accused of crimes in Canada. He said the records detail their careers as Oblates, including their vows, service and different missions. They do not provide reports of crimes against children and rarely report problems working with children, he added. Any commentary in personnel files about child abuse is presented as part of the priest’s rehabilitation, he said. “There is no documentation for the children,” Frogner said. “The focus is on the service of the priest. … It was always a question of how this could be addressed, how it could be resolved within the church.” In some cases, he said, the documents show that a priest received an assignment out of “obedience” without giving details.
“Sorry” isn’t going to cut it anymore”
Frogner said that when he asked to see the records of a notorious priest in Cowessess, the record he received was “very thin” and gave no indication of problems with the way the priest treated children. “The worst crime a person can commit is to take a child’s innocence,” said school survivor Evelyn Korkmaz. “However, we seem to be looking the other way and allowing these people to move from location to location, committing these crimes for decades.” Former St. Anne’s residential school survivor Evelyn Korkmaz says she wants to see all residential school records in Rome returned to Canada. (Brian Morris/CBC) Korkmaz attended the former residential school St. Anne’s in Fort Albany in northeastern Ontario. The institution, which was run by the Catholic orders of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Gray Sisters of the Cross, was notorious for abuse. Students reported that the school had its own version of the electric chair that was used to shock students. Korkmaz is traveling to Edmonton later this week for the arrival of Pope Francis, who is visiting Canada for what he calls a “penitential pilgrimage” to bring healing and reconciliation. “I want to hear Pope Francis take responsibility for the crimes committed by the institution he represents,” said Korkmaz, a founding member of the international organization Ending Clergy Abuse, which includes survivors from 28 countries. “Saying ‘sorry’ is not going to cut it anymore. We need action. We want justice.” Korkmaz, who is also a founding member of Advocates for Clergy Trauma Survivors in Canada, said she suspects there are even more relevant documents in Rome or even the Vatican, despite denials by Canadian bishops.
Comparing the records of Rome with those of Canada
He said he hopes NCTR will continue to search those church records for clues. “These magazines, the records, the photographs should be returned to Canada,” he said. “These documents will help us identify the bodies in these unmarked graves and help bring closure to the families. That’s all we’re asking.” Once the copies of the documents are made, Frogner said, the NCTR will compare its findings in the Oblate General Archives with records held in Canada. Raymond Frogner, the head of archives at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, works in the reading room of the Oblate General Archives in Rome. (Provided/Raymond Frogner) Frogner’s visit to the Oblate General Archives comes a year after the Oblates agreed to speed up access to home school records. The Oblates are now moving to end their longstanding practice of keeping personnel files sealed for up to 50 years after a member’s death. Frogner said he believes the Oblates are making changes and opening their records in response to public pressure caused by reports of unmarked graves. “If it hadn’t shined a bright light on the order itself, I don’t know if we’d be having this conversation today,” he said. “I also don’t know that we would be apologizing to the Pope and the Pope coming to Canada to further these relationships with Indigenous communities.”
