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A new report has revealed some concerning details surrounding discoveries made at burial sites at a former residential school in Canada.
One of the details revealed in the report is that after the news of a search of unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, BC, came to light, so-called denialists came without permission to the area, some with shovels, to “see for themselves.”
The report, Sacred Responsibility: Searching for the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials, comes from the Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor.
The purpose of the report was to look at the Canadian legal framework and identify the
“limitations and gaps that create barriers for Survivors, Indigenous families, and communities as they lead search and recovery efforts to find the missing children and unmarked burials.”
In the section of the report that references the denialists who wanted to see for themselves “if children are buried there,” the report adds that they also attacked the community on social media.
“Kúkpi7 Casimir explained that the hate and racism was so intense that she no longer uses social media without heavy filters. She said that the toxicity of denialism on social media needs more attention,” the report states.
The report goes on to say that “the community also received predatory and exploitive media requests that they had to filter.”
It has been an emotional process for the community which agreed to use science to support what knowledge keepers have known for years.
The site was searched using scientific ground penetrating radar, known as lidar, and revealed the impressions of 200 unmarked graves through the supervision of an anthropologist. However, under Indigenous custom, any plans of excavation would not be considered for a year to respect the grieving process.
More than a year later, no consensus has been reached among survivors either on whether disturbing the grounds would bring peace to the community or not, however, radar continues to be used to search more of the acres of area, and teams of archeologists and other experts have been brought in to consult and assist in that process.
However, it appears that there are those who have been continuing to disrespect the appeals from the community.
Some visitors had also breached cultural protocols by taking photos and video recordings of burial sites without consent.
“Significant barriers exist for Survivors, Indigenous families, and communities to access sites to conduct ceremonies and searches, particularly where the sites are in the process of being redeveloped or are owned by corporations or private landowners,” the report adds.
The report outlines every major discovery that has been made in regard to unmarked graves at former residential schools and the progress that has been made since.
You can see the full report here.
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