Human remains reburied near Rossdale power plant
A brief reburial ceremony just north of the Rossdale power plant brought honour to descendants of local First Nations, according to the chief of the Papaschase First Nation, Calvin Bruneau.
Officials with Epcor and the City of Edmonton joined about 50 people from First Nations in and around Edmonton and southern Alberta at the old Fort Edmonton traditional burial grounds.
Archeologists located human remains in August and September while Epcor was doing redesign work at the site.
Bruneau said the ceremony was important to show respect to their ancestors buried at the site.
"(It's) very special in that we're taking care of these people that were, they weren't buried properly."
The human remains found were bone fragments.
"We don't know who they are, this is going back to 1800s," he said. "You got a couple that were babies, and young adults and then a vertebrae of possibly a man."
Bruneau said ancestors on both sides of his family were buried at the site.
First Nations monitors were on location at the time of the discovery to verify the findings and work with Epcor on how to respectfully treat the remains.
Other remains have been found at the site through the years. In 2005, a ceremony was held to re-inter human remains found in 2001 and during the 1960s and '70s.
After a protest at the site about a lack of consultation by the city with the Aboriginal community, the provincial government directed the city to consult with the Papaschase band, other First Nations and the Métis Nation of Alberta.
