Trudeau calls for pope to apologise on Canadian soil after remains of hundreds of First Nations people found at Catholic schools

Second set of unmarked graves discovered on grounds of former residential schools

(AFP via Getty Images)

Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau has called on the Pope to apologise on Canadian soil for the more than 751 people who were either killed or died from negligence under the Catholic Residential School system in the country.

Two unmarked graves have been found at the sites of residential schools formerly operated by the Catholic church (though some of the residential schools were ran by other Christian sects).

Under Canada's 1894 Indian Act, First Nations children were forced to attend day schools, industrial schools or residential schools, an effort intended on its face to educate them but serving the dual purpose of isolating them from their homes, languages and culture. Though the Indian Act made the practice official, First Nations children were being separated from their families as early as 1831.

This isolation was built into the system, with some - like then-Indian Commissioner Hayter Reed - arguing for the schools to be located far from the lands of First Nations people to limit the likelihood of frequent family visits.

The isolated First Nations students were left under the supervision of those who ran the residential schools, which often meant members of the Catholic clergy or other Christian religious workers. Though the abuse and neglect First Nations children endured at these schools has long been known, the discovery of the graves is material evidence of the injustices to which they were subject.

On Friday, Mr Trudeau said he had spoken with the Pope and urged him to visit and apologise for the actions of former clergy members.

"I have spoken personally directly with His Holiness Pope Francis to press upon him how important it is not just that he makes an apology but that he makes an apology to Indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil," Mr Trudeau said during a press conference.

He said the leadership within the Catholic Church was "very actively engaged" in addressing the grisly discovery.

The latest batch of unmarked graves are located at the site of the former Marieval Residential School in Saskatchewan.

Chief Cadmus Delorme, of the Cowessess First Nation people, held a news conference on Thursday discussing the discovery of the graves. He claimed that the schools operated from 1886 until 1970.

He also claimed that in the 1970's, the Catholic Church removed the headstones from a cemetery on the school's property.

It is not clear if all of the bodies found at the gravesite are children, as the remains have not been exhumed and studied.

Researchers use a ground-penetrating radar to locate remains, but that information has an error rate of 10 to 15 per cent and cannot give precise details about discovered remains.

The discovery is a reminder of the brutality that colonisers across the entirety of North America subjected the indigenous people to after arriving on the continent.

Several weeks ago First Nations authorities discovered another set of unmarked graves at the former site of Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. There were 215 graves found in that discovery.

Pope Francis called for reconcilliation following the discovery of those graves.