Exploring Theme: "Residential School Denialism"

Photos of signs are under review by Winnipeg police hate unit. APTN News: Photos of handmade signs in the yard of a suburban Winnipeg home are now in the hands of the Winnipeg police’s hate crimes unit. The signs dismiss the harms caused by residential schools, reconciliation, denounces the “gay agenda,” and the orange shirt...

University of Manitoba professor Sean Carleton says goal of denialism is to protect the colonial status quo Alessia Passafiume · The Canadian Press · Posted: Oct 27, 2024 12:34 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 27 CBC News: The Canadian Press – As a young child, Dennis Saddleman’s mother always ensured he knew how much she loved him, gave...

Proposed wording change attempted to ‘turn down the volume on [the] truth,’ one lawyer said CBC Indigenous: A recent request to change the wording in a mandatory Indigenous intercultural course for lawyers in British Columbia led to a debate over whether the changes amounted to residential school denialism.  Victoria-based criminal defence lawyer Jim Heller submitted a resolution to...

Many First Nations people have provided important nuance to the debate. Their views should not be made illegal NationTalk: Special to the The National Post – The effort by MP Leah Gazan to criminalize residential school views she labels “denialist” is a mistake. Gazan’s Bill C-413, if passed, would criminalize any statement that might be interpreted...

Leah Gazan in the House of Commons on Thursday. APTN News: NDP MP Leah Gazan has introduced a bill that would criminalize residential school denialism, saying it would help stop the harm caused toward survivors, their families and communities. If the bill is passed, people could be charged under the Criminal Code for promoting hatred against Indigenous...

Despite possible evidence of hundreds of graves at former schools for Indigenous children, challenges in making a clear conclusion have given rise to skeptics. The Kamloopa Powwow in Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, British Columbia. An announcement in 2021 that the possible remains of 215 students in unmarked graves had been found at the former Kamloops residential...

How to identify it, and how to push back against dangerous false claims. The Tyee: The Conversation – In 2021, three short years ago, #CancelCanadaDay was trending on social media following announcements about thousands of unmarked graves at the former sites of Indian Residential Schools across Canada.  Today, research is expanding on the history of child institutionalization...

‘These are important truths that Canada and the churches must accept,’ says Kimberly Murray. APTN News: Warning: This story contains distressing details about residential schools A new report shows the residential school system used Indigenous children as grave-diggers, guinea pigs in an experimental community, and even brides and grooms. Sites of Truth, Site of Conscience is...

Lhtako Dene Nation leader calls Grave Error book ‘absolute bigotry and hatred’ CBC Indigenous: The Canadian Press – Quesnel’s city council voted unanimously to denounce a book the Lhtako Dene Nation says downplays the harms of residential schools, after the First Nation and councillors raised concerns the mayor’s wife was distributing it to residents in the city about 630...

Ottawa looking at different legal mechanisms it could deploy to address issue WARNING: This story contains details of experiences at residential schools. CBC Indigenous: “It wasn’t that bad, they got an education out of it.”  Michael Eshkawkogan says he’s seen that exact comment and others like it when scrolling on social media. No one has...

NationTalk: When death occurs, people gather to pay respect, honour the deceased and support their loved ones. But when it comes to the thousands of children who went missing while being forced to attend Indian Residential Schools, some seem to think that Indigenous people should simply move on. Why is that?   Indigenous families and...

The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press – Kimberly Murray, the independent special interlocutor on missing children, unmarked graves and burial sites associated with residential schools, says she has met with Canada’s new Justice Minister and hopes he will move to address “denialism.” Ms. Murray, who was given a two-year mandate last year to work...

And how to confront it. Because without the truth, there can be no reconciliation. The Tyee: May 27, 2023 marked the two-year anniversary of the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc’s announcement about the location of 215 potential unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in the Interior of British Columbia. In recognition of the anniversary,...

The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press: Ottawa – The independent special interlocutor on unmarked graves says “urgent consideration” should be given to legal mechanisms as a way for Canada to combat residential school denialism. Kimberly Murray makes the call in an interim report released today, just over a year after she was appointed to...

Denialism is the last step of genocide, says report from independent interlocutor CBC News: Residential school deniers tried to dig up suspected unmarked grave sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, not believing a May 2021 announcement from the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc that as many as 215 Indigenous children had been buried there, according to a new report....