Federal government pledges $4.88M to help search for unmarked Sask. residential school burial sites

Saskatoon -

The Government of Canada has announced funding to help search for unmarked burial sites at Saskatchewan’s former residential schools.

The federal government will provide $4.88 million to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) to help gather knowledge about the sites and support the cemremonies related to them, a news release from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada said.

The search for the unmarked burial sites has taken on new urgency following the discovery of the remains of 215 children on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops.

"It is a positive step toward healing and reconciliation for government to finally give these families and communities the closure they deserve and peace to the thousands of little souls in the unmarked graves surrounding these schools," FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said in the release.

The announcement comes less than a week after the Government of Saskatchewan promised $2 million to help in the FSIN effort.