Search uncovers 171 'plausible burials' near Ontario residential school

Wauzhushk Onigum Nation in northern Ontario says it has uncovered 171 ``plausible burials'' in studies of cemetery grounds at a former residential school site.

The First Nation says with the exception of five grave markers, the rest are unmarked.

In a news release Tuesday afternoon, the First Nation says the site linked to the former St. Mary's Residential School in Kenora, Ont., has been secured in accordance with Anishinaabe protocols.

The First Nation says the anomalies, which it also calls ``plausible burials,'' were found during studies conducted by its technical, archeological and ground-penetrating-radar team.

The release says the First Nation is meeting with federal and provincial ministers Tuesday to discuss the next steps, including the resources required to continue the investigation.

It says the First Nation it is looking to gain greater certainty about the number of plausible graves in the cemetery grounds and to conduct investigations at several additional sites in the vicinity of the school.