The BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) is congratulating the Lhtako Dene Nation and the City of Quesnel for their work fighting against Residential School denialism, commending them in a press release.
In 2021, Tkemlúps te Secwépemc brought forward evidence of unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops ̓ Indian Residential School, explains the release, noting First Nations across Canada found approximately 1,900 unmarked graves at 16 other former residential schools.
"When it came to light that the wife of Quesnel’s mayor was distributing denialist literature, the council unanimously denounced the denialist book and supported the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission," states the release.
“Residential schools killed thousands of Indigenous children, which is a hard pill to swallow for many non-Indigenous Canadians who continue to believe in national myths of fairness and justice,” said Regional Chief Terry Teegee. “But the Church’s own records confirm thousands of children never went home from these so-called schools."
"This is part of the history of this country, and denying these facts is extremely harmful to the progress we are making towards reconciliation,” he continued.
According to the release, evidence was found by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 3,213 deaths of children in residential school records, with the number "unlikely to be a full accounting due to poor record keeping and many records not surviving".
“Residential school denialism needs to be called out when we see it. This is not a matter of opinion or free speech; it is hateful, harmful, and cannot be tolerated by Canadian society,” added Teegee.
“It is incumbent on our allies among non-Indigenous Canadians to speak up when they are confronted by this poison. The BCAFN applauds the work of the Lhtako Dene Nation and the city of Quesnel in stamping out denialism when confronted by it,” he concluded.
The release further notes that denialists focus on errors in reporting or claim students benefited from residential schools, attempting to create doubt about the reality of harms committed against Indigenous people by the Residential School system.
You can read the press release and Regional Chief Terry Teegee's statement in full below:
2024.03.22 Lhtako.quesnel by Tom Summer on Scribd
