UNLOCKING THE GATES: CORRELATING GROUND PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS(GIS) FOR THE LOCATION OF INDIAN CHILDREN IN HISTORIC INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL CEMETERIES

This research is focused on locating children in Indian boarding school cemeteries. During the boarding school era, thousands of children were stolen or kidnapped under duress and sent to off-reservation boarding schools, some as young as six, some never returned. Many are still lost in the Indian boarding school cemeteries. The graves of these children may have markers, or no markers, however GPR has the potential to more-thoroughly document how many children were buried, and coupled with GIS, these methods can more accurately define spatial reference of the graves. Both methods are considered non-invasive and non-disturbing.

GPR has the capacity to show burials at various depths and to tag them with spatial coordinates for mapping with GIS. GIS can enhance the statistical analysis of tribal member flow rates, and spatial query of burials. Factors including return time, energy transfer rate, antennae position, permittivity and conductivity of materials, and moisture content of the soils impact how clearly GPR can detect anomalies. The amount of energy transmitted is selected for a desired depth. Variations in mass determine how energy is reflected and recorded for critical signal processing. We have used this method at Chemawa Indian Boarding School in Salem, Oregon. Using a 400 MHz GPR antenna with GPS, we have found clusters of anomalies at single locations at various depths from 0.5 to 4.5 feet. Our goal is to locate children’s graves and help families and tribes heal from their loss. These results will help all people understand the magnitude of this tragedy in history and will be a necessary step in the reconciliation process.

Preliminary results and historical records indicate there are literally hundreds of children that are buried in Indian boarding school cemeteries without identity. In many cases, the GPR signal is the only indicator of the burial. It is recognized that most burials are children and that determining names will be difficult and in most cases impossible, however, locating the individual burials is a first step. Our study is a unique application of an earth sciences method to a historical and societal issue. We plan to mark graves, identify individuals when possible, but then mark other burials as “Someone’s Child” with all of the respect for their role in their family and community.