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Mass graves error and perpetrated lies

Submitted by Peter Johnston on December 21, 2024 - 8:53am

From Dave Olsen's post to the Lasqueti email  Digest, Vol 158, Issue 35 (Dec 19):

     Last night, nobody denied anything except the non-existent "mass graves" which should   never have been announced in the first place. 

The mass graves were never announced. A few news media did use the phrase for a short time, but then stopped and corrected themselves, as there was no basis for it. Brief details are below.

Mass graves is a story promulgated by deniers so they can "debunk" it and spread doubt about truths that there is overwhelming evidence for. Whatever their motivations, the denialists' behaviour - including Dave Olsen's - is racist and reprehensible and damaging to our community and country. 

 We must carry on with the process of acknowledging the wrongs that were perpetrated in the past, and whose legacy we are still living, and doing whatever we can to make up for the injustices that were inflicted on the Indigenous Peoples whose homes and lands have been taken over. We need to work toward fairness and justice, rather than deny that anything has happened. Our country has not lived up to its myth. Now we have an opportunity to do better.

 

The press release from the Kamloops Indian Band did state       " ... the preliminary findings came to light – the confirmation of the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School."    https://tkemlups.ca/wp-content/uploads/05-May-27-2021-TteS-MEDIA-RELEASE...

CBC reported this, as did many other media.   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tk-eml%C3%BAps-te-secw%C...

Two days later CBC updated their story with this:   "LATEST UPDATE: Since this story was first published, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation has updated its findings and clarified that what was detected in the ground-penetrating radar survey were about 200 potential burial sites.   Read the full story here."    The link takes you to https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kamloops-residential-sch...

You can download and read Debunking the “Mass Grave Hoax”: A Report on Media Coverage and Residential School Denialism in Canada by Reid Gerbrandt and Sean Carleton (49p) published by the UofM Centre for Human Rights  at
https://chrr.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Report-on-Media-Coverage-an...

Comments

dog whistles and contradictions

Submitted by Joseph F. (not verified) on December 21, 2024 - 12:16pm.

In that post from Mr. Olsen he says:
"Please remember, this presentation is a debunking of Sean Carleton's zoom lecture two weeks ago"
I was at Sean's presentation - he barely spoke of ground penetrating radar studies and never used the term "mass graves" other than to answer audience questions about it.
In those answers he was very clear that:

  • the evidence for atrocities committed against children at residential schools is overwhelming and comes primarily from archival documents - it does not rely in any way on ground penetrating radar studies. Period.
  • "mass graves" was a misnomer, long-since corrected, that is now used only by those who seek to sow division and bigotry against First Nations.
  • First Nations have no obligation to "prove" anything to you - the courts and the TRC have already ruled on these matters based on overwhelming evidence. There is no open question - children were abused and needlessly died in these schools. These facts have been litigated and decided and agreed to by the parties on both sides. By asking for "proof" you are denying the long and painful journey First Nations took to get to this point.
  • If there are unmarked graves at these sites, the families and communities whose children might be buried there must be given the space, respect, and authority to decide the best course of action for themselves. It is actually none of your business.

Mr. Olsen says "Last night, nobody denied anything except the non-existent "mass graves"..."
Then what exactly was this presentation "debunking"? No one at Sean's seminar, least of all Sean, was talking about "mass graves" other than to denounce those using the term to stoke division and mistrust. Seems more like you were proving one of his core points than debunking anything.

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