The amount of stories of family members who never came home is disturbing.
In the long shadow of a system designed to erase Indigenous children from their cultures and families, the Williams Lake First Nation is turning to the earth itself for answers. Following the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, the Nation is preparing to search the grounds of St. Joseph's Mission — a Catholic institution that compelled thousands of children through its doors between 1886 and 1981, many of whom never returned home. This act of searching is both a technical undertaking and a profound moral one, the beginning of a national reckoning with what was done, and what was buried.
- The May 2021 discovery of 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops sent a tremor through the country, and Williams Lake First Nation recognized immediately that their own history demanded the same scrutiny.
- Community members have long carried the weight of family members who entered St. Joseph's Mission and simply never came back — stories Chief Willie Sellars calls 'disturbing stuff.'
- The Nation has contracted its own archaeological firm to conduct a ground-penetrating radar survey of the former mission site, prioritizing areas through elder testimony, historical records, and traditional-use data before crews arrive.
- Sellars is bracing his community for the emotional toll of what may be found, working to ensure trauma supports are in place before the search begins in July or August 2021.
- With $27 million in federal funding now committed and 139 residential school sites across Canada, Williams Lake is expected to be the first of many such investigations — a reckoning unfolding one excavation at a time.
The Williams Lake First Nation is preparing to search the grounds of the former St. Joseph's Mission residential school for the remains of Indigenous children who never came home. The decision was galvanized by the May 2021 discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, which the Nation watched unfold with recognition and urgency. They have since contracted Sugar Cane Archeology, their own in-house firm, to conduct a comprehensive ground-penetrating radar survey of the mission site, located a few kilometres from one of the Nation's reserves.
St. Joseph's Mission operated for nearly a century under the Catholic Church, forcing thousands of Indigenous children through its system between 1886 and 1981. The building has since been demolished, but the land remains — now privately owned, with the owners' consent to search. Before equipment moves in, the Nation will map priority areas using elder testimony, survivor accounts, and historical research, with ground crews expected to begin work by July or August 2021.
Chief Willie Sellars, whose own father and grandparents survived residential schools, has been visibly moved by what he has heard. At a community gathering around a sacred fire to honour the Kamloops dead, he listened to testimony about family members who entered the mission and were never seen again. He is preparing his community carefully. 'It is going to be stressful,' he said, emphasizing the need for trauma supports throughout the process.
Sellars has been in contact with the federal minister of Indigenous Services regarding resources, and the federal government has committed $27 million to help communities search for children lost to these institutions. With 139 residential schools across Canada and 18 in British Columbia alone, Sellars sees Williams Lake as the beginning of something much larger — a national reckoning that will move, community by community, through the unmarked ground of a buried history.
The Williams Lake First Nation is preparing to excavate the grounds of a former Catholic residential school, searching for the remains of Indigenous children who vanished into its system and never came home. No one can say with certainty how many of the thousands of students forced through St. Joseph's Mission between 1886 and 1981 died there and were buried in unmarked graves.
The decision to search came in the wake of a discovery that shook the country. In May 2021, ground-penetrating radar revealed 215 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The Williams Lake First Nation, watching that news unfold, recognized the technology and the urgency. They contracted Sugar Cane Archeology, their own in-house firm, to conduct a comprehensive ground survey of the St. Joseph's Mission site, located a few kilometres from one of the Nation's reserves. Chief Willie Sellars said the work cannot begin fast enough. "Everyone wants to get this research done and the investigation started," he told reporters on Tuesday.
The mission operated for nearly a century, run by the Catholic Church from 1891 until 1969. The building itself has since been demolished, but the footprint remains—large and sprawling across what is now private land. The owners have agreed to allow the search. Before crews move in with expensive equipment, Sellars said the Nation will map out a strategy. They plan to identify priority areas by reviewing traditional-use data, historical research, and accounts gathered directly from elders and survivors. The goal is to have ground crews working by July or August, moving with precision rather than guessing.
The weight of what they may find is not lost on Sellars. His own father and grandparents survived residential schools. During a community gathering held around a sacred fire to honour the Kamloops dead, he heard testimony that haunted him. "The amount of stories of family members who never came home is disturbing stuff, I can't even tell you," he said. The search will unearth not just soil but trauma—anger, hurt, and the accumulated grief of families who lost children to a system designed to erase them.
Sellars is preparing the community for what comes next. "It is going to be stressful," he acknowledged. "There's a lot of trauma and hurt, a lot of anger and frustration … and we want to make sure we have the supports in place as we move into the process." He has already been in contact with Marc Miller, the federal minister of Indigenous Services, about the search and the resources required to conduct it with dignity.
What happens in Williams Lake will not be isolated. Sellars pointed out that Canada operated 139 residential schools in total, with 18 in British Columbia alone. "We are going to see these investigations popping up across the country, and rightly so," he said. The federal government has already committed $27 million to help Indigenous communities locate and identify the remains of children who died at these institutions. The search at St. Joseph's Mission is the beginning of a reckoning that will stretch across the nation, one excavation at a time, one community at a time, one unmarked grave at a time.
Notable Quotes
Everyone wants to get this research done and the investigation started.— Chief Willie Sellars
We are going to see these investigations popping up across the country, and rightly so.— Chief Willie Sellars
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the Williams Lake First Nation feel compelled to start this search now, rather than years ago?
The Kamloops discovery changed everything. When 215 graves appeared on the radar screen, it made the invisible suddenly visible. It proved the technology works, and it proved that the stories people had been carrying—the missing children, the silence—were real and recoverable.
Chief Sellars mentioned the stories are "disturbing." What does he mean by that?
He means the sheer number. Families have been living with absences for generations. A child sent away to school and never heard from again. A sibling who vanished. These aren't isolated incidents—they're woven through the community. When people gather and start talking, the pattern becomes overwhelming.
The site is private property now. How does that complicate the search?
It means they need permission and cooperation. Fortunately, the landowners are willing. But it also means the Nation has to be strategic about where they dig. They can't just excavate everywhere. They have to listen to the stories, study the records, talk to survivors who remember the layout, and make educated decisions about where to focus.
Sellars said this will be "stressful." For whom?
For everyone. The crews doing the digging will be handling the remains of children. The families waiting for answers will be reliving their loss. The community will be processing collective trauma in real time. That's why he's talking about supports—counselling, spiritual care, space to grieve.
He mentioned 139 residential schools in Canada. Does that mean 139 searches coming?
Not necessarily all at once, but yes—the momentum is building. Once one community proves it can be done, others will follow. The federal funding makes it possible. What happened in Kamloops opened a door that can't be closed.