Episode 56: 751 Unmarked Graves with Cowesess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme

Ahkameyimok Podcast with Perry Bellegarde

On this Canada Day, a special episode on the devastating and ongoing impact of the Residential School system. The shocking find of 751 unmarked graves at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan is another heartbreaking validation of survivor accounts of the horrifying abuse and neglect Indigenous children endured at these government funded, church run institutions, whose main aim was wiping out Indigenous culture and identity. Nowhere has the heartbreak been felt stronger than in the Cowessess First Nation, where Marieval operated from 1898 to 1996. Cadmus Delorme is the Chief of the Cowessess First Nation and joins Ahkameyimok to describe what it was like finding so many graves, how they were found, the impact on the community, what needs to be done to begin healing, what justice looks like for the children buried there and what advice he has for other First Nations searching for children who died or were killed at Residential Schools.

***The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of his or her Residential school experience. 1-866-925-4419***

For more on the work of the Assembly of First Nations, please visit AFN.ca

The Ahkameyimok Podcast is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.

Our theme music is provided by the Red Dog Singers from Treaty 4 Territory in Saskatchewan.