Exploring Theme: "Residential School Denialism"

NDP member of Parliament Leah Gazan, second from right, is joined by Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray, right, and Indian Residential School survivors during a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2024. They are calling on the Government of Canada to recognize residential school denialism as inciting hate in the Criminal...

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...

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...

Reconciliation, the quest to repair the relationship with Indigenous peoples, isn’t a “woke” fantasy. By Paul Racher NationTalk: The Hamilton Spectator – Recent articles in some corners of the Canadian media landscape have made much of the fact that the number of suspected graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School has been revised downward. Indeed,...

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...

Kimberly Murray issues historical report, an ‘antidote to denialism,’ as she works toward final report WARNING: This article contains images of residential school pupils in cemeteries.  CBC News: The history of residential school burial sites is evidence of crimes against humanity that could in theory be prosecuted, the special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked burials...

Chief, experts say anniversary an important time to counter residential school denialism WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC Indigenous: The Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc say the search for truth and inter-generational healing continues for missing children and survivors at the Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS), three years after the announcement of preliminary evidence suggesting around 200 sets...

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...