The BC Assembly of First Nations congratulates the Lhtako Dene Nation and City of Quesnel for their efforts fighting against residential school denialism in Canada.
When it came to light that the wife of Quesnel’s Mayor was distributing denialist literature, Council unanimously denounced the book and supported the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In a release from the BCAFN today (March 22) Regional Chief Terry Teegee stated “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, 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.”
BCAFN said in the release Tkemlups te Secwepemc first brought forward evidence of unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in 2021.
Since then, First Nations across Canada have found evidence of approximately 1,900 unmarked graves at 16 other former Residential Schools.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found evidence of 3,213 deaths of children in Residential School records, which they admit is unlikely to be a full accounting due to poor record keeping and too many records not surviving.
Teegee went on to say 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. It is incumbent on our allies among non-indigenous Canadians to speak up when they are confronted by this poison,” Teegee said, “The BC Assembly of First Nations applauds the work of the Lhtako Dene Nation and the City of Quesnel in stamping out denialism when confronted by it.”
NOTE: The Indian Residential Schools Survivor Society provides support for survivors and intergenerational survivors of residential schools. If you need support please contact their 24-hour hotline at 1-800-721-0066.