Abstract

The St. Joseph (Dunbow) Mission school, southeast of Calgary, was operated by the Oblate Fathers from the 1880s to about 1920. Intended to teach Native children useful western skills and to discourage traditional culture, children were recruited from many tribal groups including all three Blackfoot Nations, Cree, Tsuu T'ina as well as Metis. Inevitably, increased contact with Euro-Canadians also led to an increase in disease and many Native children died while at the school. Locating family members in a timely manner was not always possible and several dozen children were buried at a cemetery established on the banks of the Highwood river near the Dunbow school. In recent years the river has cut into the banks beneath this cemetery sending caskets and bones downstream. This situation created a dilemma for all involved - the Church, Aboriginal people, government departments, the local landowner. Who is responsible for unmarked, unregistered burials and human remains? Can or should anything be done, or should nature take its course? This paper chronicles several years of events surrounding the story of the Dunbow cemetery, and how Aboriginal groups and resource managers worked together to bring a dramatic conclusion to this unfortunate situation.