Residential school deniers entered the former Kamloops Indian Residential School site to dig up unmarked graves, according to a new report.
Kimberly Murray, the independent special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves and burial sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, said in the Friday report that residential school deniers entered the site where the remains of hundreds of children were reportedly found in 2021.
“Denialists entered the site without permission. Some came in the middle of the night, carrying shovels; they said they wanted to “see for themselves” if children are buried there,” the report reads.
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc also had to deal with uninvited visitors who didn’t respect the site, the report claims, including deniers and members of the media who breached cultural protocols by taking photos and video recordings of the burial site without consent.
The report states that the community was also attacked on social media by deniers.
“Many international experts point out that denialism is the last step in genocide. Denialism is not harmless, yet its destructive impacts are not widely recognized or understood,” the report reads.
“The burden of countering denialism should not rest on the shoulders of survivors or those attempting to heal from the trauma relating to the search and recovery of the missing children and unmarked burials.”
According to the report, “a core group of Canadians” continue to defend the residential schools system, by denying that children suffered physical, sexual, psychological, cultural, and spiritual abuse, while others try to deny or minimize the impacts.
“Every time an announcement of anomalies, reflections or recoveries relating to the existence of unmarked burials is made, Indigenous communities are being attacked by denialists challenging these findings,” the report states.
“This violence is prolific and takes place via email, telephone, social media, op-eds and, at times, through in-person confrontations.”
In February, Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan said denying genocide is violent and re-traumatizes survivors.
According to the report, Gazan is proposing legislation that would make Indian Residential School denialism a hate crime.
“This is more than a media story whose time is coming and going, we have to ensure justice and accountability keeps going in the long-term," said,” Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir said in the report.
"[We need to] pressure the government and the churches to do the right thing so our survivors can find peace."
