We don't know who they are, where they are, or even how many there are of them. All we know is they are out there.The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission contains an entire volume devoted to children who died or went missing while attending residential schools throughout Canada. The findings are disturbing.The Commission identified 3,200 confirmed deaths, but the evidence suggests the total number may be much higher. In 32 per cent of the confirmed cases, the deceased student's name was not recorded. In 23 per cent, the gender of the student was not recorded. The cause of death was not recorded in 49 per cent of the deaths.The Commission also found the death rate for residential school students was far higher than in the general population, the prevailing practice was to not return deceased students' bodies to their home communities, and that most cemeteries containing their remains have been abandoned.The residential school that was located west of Brandon, Manitoba is mentioned often in the volume of the report that addresses student deaths. For example, it reveals that a missionary and six students travelling to the Brandon school in 1903 drowned when the boat carrying them sank. It discusses as 1935 report which found that "four of five" children (i.e. 80 per cent) entering the Brandon school had "some evidence" of tuberculosis.The report also notes that "Two cemeteries are associated with the Brandon residential school. The first is on a privately owned campground north of the Assiniboine River. The land was once the site of a public park, known as “Curran Park.” . . . A second cemetery was later established in the rural municipality of Cornwallis. There is a marker on the site that lists the names of eleven students, all but one of whom died prior to 1950."For many years, rumours have circulated around Brandon of unmarked graves in the vicinity of the old residential school site. Many refused to believe them because they assumed the government would never allow childrens' graves to go unmarked and unattended, particularly within a city-owned recreation area.That assumption was shattered last summer, when a media report revealed that University of Manitoba researcher Katherine Nichols, a Brandonite who grew up near the residential school site, had found records indicating that 70 students had died while attending the Brandon school.She discovered the cemetery with the marker listing 11 names may actually contain the remains of up to 26 individuals, and found other evidence suggesting three more students may be buried north of the old building site.  She was not granted access to the Curran Park site, now privately-owned, but is certain the 70 names she found does not include all of the kids who died while attending the Brandon school.Some obvious questions arise from Nichols' work: Why were steps not taken to locate and protect the graves before the school closed in 1972? Why have successive provincial governments failed to enforce provisions of the Cemeteries Act, which requires proper care of lands where human remains are buried?Why did the city of Brandon construct a public recreation facility near, and perhaps over, unmarked graves of aboriginal children? Why did it later sell that land to a private party without ensuring those graves would be protected?It is easy to draw inferences, but doing so won't solve the situation that now exists.Of the 94 recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in its final report, six are devoted to ascertaining how many children died while attending residential schools, finding and protecting their graves, identifying their remains, and to reburial in their home communities where requested by family members.The Trudeau government has committed to implementing those recommendations, and the Brandon site may be the ideal place to begin that process.  Nichols' work on the issue is a valuable starting point, but only the government has the power to gain access to the privately-owned land where the majority of the graves may be located.If the reconciliation process is to succeed, it must start with finding those graves, returning those children to their home communities and finally giving their families closure. It should start in Brandon.Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. His columns appear in the Winnipeg Free Press, Westman Journal and a number of other Western Canadian [email protected]                                Twitter: @deverynross