Manitoba buys campground suspected of holding hidden residential school graves
The Manitoba government purchased Turtle Crossing Campground, a site believed to contain unmarked graves of children from the former Brandon Residential School, and will hold a memorial on Orange Shirt Day.
Manitoba’s government has taken ownership of Turtle Crossing Campground in Brandon after a private sale, according to a provincial source. The campground is thought to hold unmarked graves of children who attended the Brandon Residential School, which operated from 1895 to 1972, with the burial area used between 1896 and 1912. Premier Wab Kinew will dedicate a memorial at the site on Wednesday, coinciding with Orange Shirt Day, Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The property, originally municipal land taken over in the 1920s and developed as a campground in the 1960s, was sold privately in 2001. Nearby Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, the owner of the former school grounds, has partnered with university researchers to identify all children who died there, noting a 2018 survey that flagged 56 potential graves. The First Nation and the advocacy group Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak have previously called for provincial heritage designation to safeguard the site.
Why it matters
It marks a government step toward acknowledging and protecting possible Indigenous burial sites linked to residential schools.
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