Rob Demarais is searching for the remains of First Nations

Rob Demarais is searching for the remains of First Nations people who were buried on Scholten Hill, Alta. in the late-1800s and disinterred in the mid-twentieth century because of road construction. The remains had been reinterred in Medicine Hat. Then they were again disinterred and sent to the University of Alberta for research. A report in a local newspaper Nov. 19, 1959 say city work crews came upon the burial site while they were building City View Road, which became Scholten Hill. The newspaper reported the remains were wrapped in bright blankets with tin cups, a pipe and buttons buried with the bodies. “I’d like to see them brought back if they’re sitting in boxes,” Demarais told the paper. Esplanade Archives report that in the 1960s excavation uncovered the bodies of 11 adults and two children, and those remains were taken to the university at Edmonton. What happened to the remains after that is what Demarais is hoping to discover.