Exploring Theme: "Residential School Denialism"

Calgary court to decide whether proposed class action lawsuit by Elder Sphenia Jones will go ahead WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC Indigenous: A Haida elder and residential school survivor is leading a proposed class action lawsuit against the Catholic Church and one of its priests over what she alleges are “false and deeply hurtful” denialist...

Council members hope to heal the city’s relationship with First Nations after allegations Ron Paull promoted a book containing disinformation. https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/tyee/quesnel-mayor-resists-calls-for-resignation-over-residential-school-denialism [Editor’s note: This article contains discussion of residential schools and residential school denialism. It may be triggering to some readers.] THERE IS HELP If you need support, call the Indian Residential School Survivors Society...

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...

The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press – A Prince Edward Island cabinet minister has asked a law firm to conduct an inquiry into a village councillor’s decision to display a sign denying the existence of residential school graves. Communities Minister Rob Lantz issued a statement Wednesday saying Murray Harbour Coun. John Robertson had failed...

The Confederation Bridge seen from a beach on P.E.I. Photo: Angel Moore/APTN.  APTN News: The Canadian Press – A municipal councillor in eastern Prince Edward Island has been ordered to pay a $500 fine for displaying a sign on his property denying the existence of residential school graves. The council in Murray Harbour has also...

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....