Farmer has no plans to pave unmarked graves, despite community allegations

A farmer in the hamlet of Ferland is trying to set the record straight after being accused on social media of attempting to pave over an unmarked cemetery on his land.

Travis Brisebois thought he was just purchasing some land from a farmer who wanted to retire. He didn’t realize he would also be owning a piece of Ferland’s history.

It was only after he bought the land that it was brought to his attention that the area was once home to graves or a cemetery. Brisebois said he planned to use the land for a bin site, but that project has been on hold for two years.

“This land had completely been farmed over long before we got possession of it,” Brisebois said. “We had some plans to renovate that land and then we started looking for permits.”

Brisebois said he tracked down the former landowner and tried to get some information from locals about the graves, but because it was so long ago there wasn’t much information available.

The way the story goes, the farmer said, the cemetery was placed near where the hamlet was originally located. After a rail line was built, the hamlet was moved to its current location and the graves were left where they were.

Once he found out a cemetery was potentially located on his land, Brisebois said his plans for a bin site were put on hold indefinitely, and he set out to find out exactly where the graves were.

Brisebois said he paid for several expenses around the preservation of the site, including one of two rounds of ground-penetrating radar used to search for graves. He said the RM of Mankota has also partnered with him on the work, absorbing some of the costs.

The location of the cemetery site has now been established, Brisebois shared. Along with the RM, he’s applied to get the area declared a heritage site.

“The plan would be, I guess, to put a fence up over it and kind of preserve that cemetery and little piece of history kind of out in the middle of the bald prairie,” Brisebois said.

An administrator with the RM of Mankota confirmed Brisebois has been working to preserve the cemetery on his land, but declined to comment further.

Despite his efforts to preserve the site, some on a local community Facebook page are accusing Brisebois of disrespecting the cemetery.

A post from June 6 on “The Ferland Buzz” called it an “urgent” matter, and asked people to sign a petition to protect the site. The post alleged a pioneer donated six acres of land in the area in 1917 to build a church, a rectory and a cemetery. A rock monument and tourist approach were erected on the site in 2000 to “preserve the history of Old Ferland.”

Addressed to “every concerned citizen,” the post claimed there is a “record of at least 20 unmarked graves on this site” and accused Brisebois of disrespecting the graves.

“The present owner farms over this land and is now preparing to establish a bin yard over the site,” the post read. “Have we lost all respect for our rural sacred sites? Are our ancestors’ legacies so easily forgotten and dismissed?”

Brisebois said there are certainly two sides to the story, but he’s upset that the community is still frustrated and concerned about the site given the time, money and effort he has dedicated to preserving it.

He said it was never his intent to pave over the gravesite, and he started the preservation effort as soon as he became aware the gravesite existed.

“Since I’ve been around, there’s never ever been a cemetery or any signs of a cemetery being there, so we’re hoping to change that,” he said.

650 CKOM has tried to connect with the individuals behind the Facebook post on “The Ferland Buzz.” So far, no one with concerns about Brisebois’ handling of the situation has been willing to speak on the record.

Brisebois’ project is still on hold. He said he was hoping to establish a bin site, given that the current site in their area is in a dangerous spot on the highway at the bottom of the hill. Given the proximity of his land to the highway and its topography, Brisebois said he thought it would be worthwhile to set up another bin site.

“Today, I can’t say for sure what that looks like,” Brisebois said.