Archival Research for Unmarked Graves and Missing Children

The archival records from or related to residential schools tell us important information about the lives of the children who attended the schools. Archival records can reveal information about what happened to a child, where they were buried, or the people who buried them. The record can also reveal important information about the child such as their age, their nation, and who their family was.

However, there is a vast amount of records and information available, and it can be overwhelming to know where to begin researching. One way to think about how to start research is with what kind of questions you would like to answer. This is because all research begins because of a question. It is critical to know exactly the kinds of questions you are looking to answer in order to determine the best ways to go about gathering sources and information, and to ensure that the information you are gathering is useful in answering the things you want to know. Consider the following questions:

  • What is the main thing I am hoping to find out?
  • What types of documents might have relevant information?
  • Which archives might hold these documents and other relevant information?

The answers to these questions will form the heart of your research plan and help guide you in making decisions about what records to access, for what purpose, and from where. Expand the topics below to see examples of how different archival records are able to help locate missing children and unmarked graves in various ways. 


For additional details and further information, see the generated by Know History and the Survivor’s Secretariat, which provides additional detail about how historical documents can be used in the search for missing children.

 

Identifying children and learning their stories

Archival records can tell us what residential school a child attended, for how long, and sometimes, details about what their time at residential school was like. These records can be a way of tracing a child’s presence (or absence) from residential school, providing necessary context for 

Importantly, for children that went missing from school or passed away at school, determining when and where this occurred can help to indicate where they may have been buried, or their last known location.  

For example, let's say you were looking to find the final resting place of Jane Doe after she was taken to residential school. Consider the aforementioned questions:

  • Q: What is the main thing I am hoping to find out? 
    • A: Locate the final resting place of Jane Doe after being taken to residential school
  • Q: What types of documents might have relevant information?
    • A: Birth records, Death records, Sacramental records, Hospital records, Band lists, etc.
  • Q: Which archives might hold relevant information?  
    • A: Provincial Archives, Church Archives, Hospital Archives, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Archives, Library and Archives Canada
There are many documents that might help to find information about her burial, but starting with putting together a narrative of what happened to Jane Doe begins with getting as much information as possible about her, such as her date of birth, place of birth, her parents names, any other names she went by, and other similar information. This is because it is difficult to know what records are relevant to Jane Doe without knowing other identifying information. 


Vital Statistics records such as birth records and death records may be held in Governmental archival collections, and can be very important in tracing a child through the archives. Death records are especially helpful here, as they often list place of burial and cause of death (if any identified) in the record. Churches also often kept burial records for the cemeteries under their control, and referencing burial lists from local cemeteries against the names recorded on quarterly returns is often a way to determine if children who attended the residential school are buried in these cemeteries.

A genealogical society might also have the information you are looking for as it was a practice for many genealogical societies in Canada to transcribe church burial lists for their members or similarly, record the location of graves at cemeteries that were deteriorating. For example, the Alberta Genealogical Society has an that is searchable online for a fee. The AGS can also assist you at one of their in person.

After identifying Jane Doe’s vital stats information, you might then look at the quarterly returns from the years during which she attended the residential school  to find Jane Doe’s name. Then, once located, you would look through the quarterly returns from that point to determine when Jane Doe’s name stopped appearing in the quarterly returns. There will usually be a note if a student was discharged from the school's enrollment, transferred to a different residential school, or admitted to hospital for sickness. This note will give you an idea of what other records may be necessary in your search (i.e. if admitted to hospital for sickness, hospital records would be a next step to locate additional information). If there are no quarterly returns available or only a certain set of years are available, this is where you might start to look at other types of records such as records from the church organisation that was running the residential school Jane Doe attended. 

This information should be compiled into a single document referencing these sources to provide a clear timeline of a student’s experience. An example of how to compile this information can be found here: . Once the information has been compiled in one place, a narrative can provide a summary of important events. For example:

Jane Doe, Born 01/01/1901, Attended residential school from 01/09/1906-01/12/1909. Transferred to hospital 01/12/1909, Died 01/01/1910 from illness, Death certificate notes J.D. buried in the local cemetery, burial plot unknown.

Doing this kind of research for each student who attended residential school will provide valuable information on resting places of children who passed at residential school, which children are still unaccounted for in the records, and potentially where to look for additional information on the missing children. 

Tips for Creating a Student Narrative 

  • Record and reference what information was found in which record so you can retrace your steps easily.
  • Cross reference archival data from multiple sources. 
  • Note any “gaps” in the archive, or lack of Vital Statistics records.  
  • Bring together any information about the child and create a timeline with this information.
  • Identify any photos of the child found in the archives.
Landscape reconstruction and identifying areas of interest for remote sensing searches

The locations where residential schools or other institutions were located have changed across time. Buildings have been built and moved, infrastructure has been developed, and land has been parcelled off and sold. Therefore, a crucial aspect of searching for unmarked graves is to determine what the land looked like in the time period you have questions about, especially as it compares to the modern landscape. 

When you are determining what areas of land to search for unmarked burials, archives are a valuable resource for understanding how the landscape has changed over time. For example, old maps or photographs may identify burial locations that are no longer in use or known to the general public, or the locations of buildings that no longer exist. This information is a necessary step to conducting a ground search, as searching an area that used to have a building with a foundation (or had subsequent construction occur on site) will not be a good use of technology. 

For example, a research team is looking to identify areas that are suitable for a Ground Penetrating Radar survey to locate potential unmarked graves or burial grounds in the area of a former IRS. However, it is known that the school moved locations and was rebuilt at least twice, but the exact location of these former buildings is no longer known. The research team decides that it is important to determine where these buildings were and attempt to map out where they used to be in comparison to the modern landscape in order to make informed decisions about the best use of technology in the area. Returning to our questions:

  • Q: What is the main thing I am hoping to find out? 
    • A: Identify changes to the landscape over time, such as locations of previous buildings and other infrastructure.
  • Q: What types of documents might have relevant information?
    • A: Satellite imagery, aerial photos, survey maps, building blueprints
  • Q: Which archives might hold relevant information?  
    • A: Provincial Archives, University Libraries, Natural Resources Canada, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Archives, Library and Archives Canada

The goal in this case is to determine what changes occurred to the landscape in each decade since the school’s opening until present day. A good place to start will be with the . These documents provide a summary of the school’s history, citations of relevant archival records, and often contain photographs, maps, or building plans of the school in question. It is important to compile information from different sources, as no single map, image, or building plan will provide a complete picture of all the changes on the landscape alone. Indigenous Services Canada has also put together a for historical aerial imagery on residential school landscapes, which is a great example of some of the changes that have occurred from when the school was in operation to the present day.

Some of the most helpful documents for landscape reconstruction are aerial photos. Before satellite imagery, aerial photos of the land were taken by the Canadian Government to provide an inventory of natural resources and were used to create maps of the land. Aerial imagery is often widely available for most parts of Canada after the 1940s, but some parts of Canada have aerial imagery starting from the 1900s. Aerial photos are often stored in Governmental repositories (such as Natural Resources Canada, or Provincial Government repositories) rather than stored in archives like other records might be. For additional information on how to understand and order aerial photos in Alberta, please see the IPIA Guide to Ordering Aerial Photos .

After compiling the different records and sources of information, you may need to seek the help of someone with experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which can be someone from Lands Departments, Archaeologists, or other individuals in related disciplines. The goal is to put the historical information into a map (an ArcGIS Pro tutorial for this can be found ), which outlines where buildings used to be and to track these changes over the decades. This information can then be used to identify areas that are either suitable or unsuitable for different types of technology that can be used to locate unmarked graves, which will help to establish a detailed survey plan, in collaboration with technical experts, to cover all areas of interest.

Tips for Landscape Reconstruction

  • Record and reference what information was found in which record so you can retrace your steps easily.
  • Cross reference archival data from multiple sources. 
  • Try to gather information about the landscape from each decade it was in operation until present day.
  • Maps and survey plans are often kept in different archives compared to other types of archival records. Try contacting municipal, provincial, and federal lands or resources departments to see if they have old survey plans, maps, or other records of the areas.

For more information and guidance in starting your archival research as it relates to Unmarked Graves Investigations in Residential School Landscapes, please see the IPIA Archival Research Guide. Other guides that may be helpful for you are collected below: 

  • Know History and the Survivor’s Secretariat:
  • Library and Archives Canada:
  • Government of Alberta: Culture, Multiculturalism, and the Status of Women:
  • Provincial Archives of Alberta: