New research finds at least 3,000 confirmed Indian residential school deaths
TORONTO - New research has found at least 3,000 children are now known to have died during attendance at Canada's disgraced Indian residential schools.
Researchers with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission tell The Canadian Press that the findings are the result of search of government, school and other records.
It's the first time fatalities have been quantified based on systematic research.
Research manager Alex Maass says the number could rise further as more documents — especially from government archives — come to light.
Diseases such as the Spanish flu and tuberculosis accounted for most of the deaths, but some students succumbed to accidents or abuse.
Maass says most of the dead children have been positively identified, although about 500 remain nameless.
