Frances Widdowson was a professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University from 2008-2021.  She is currently grieving her termination, and her case is going to arbitration in January 2023.  Episodes pertaining to Widdowson’s case, and links to her research, can be found on the website www.wokeacademy.info.

Recently, three professors – Niigaan Sinclair and Kisha Supernant and Sean Carleton – wrote opinion pieces expressing concerns about increasing “denialism” with respect to the “unmarked graves” at Indian Residential Schools (IRS). “Denialists,” according to Supernant and Carleton, are people who “seek to deny or distort basic IRS facts and question the validity of ongoing research to shake public confidence and undermine truth and reconciliation efforts.”  

The reason for this concern was two pieces that had appeared in the National Post and the New York Post.  The first to be published was a National Post column by Terry Glavin, entitled “The Year of the Graves.”  In this piece, Glavin argued that, while Indigenous spokespeople had been cautious about reporting the findings about unmarked graves at residential schools, white people had “lost their minds” and referred to them as “mass graves.” This sensationalist reporting occurred in spite of the fact that excavations undertaken in three locations thought to have possible secret graves – at Shubenacadie, the Charles Camsell Indian Hospital, and the Mohawk Institute – had not turned up any burials.

The second piece, written by Dana Kennedy and appearing in the New York Post, focused on the Kamloops case and went much further.  It began with the eye-catching headline “’Biggest fake news story in Canada’: Kamloops mass grave debunked by academics.” It contained arguments from four academics – Tom Flanagan, Jacques Rouillard, Eldon Yellowhorn, and me – asserting that no bodies had been discovered to indicate the existence of a “mass grave”. According to Yellowhorn, an Indigenous anthropologist and archaeologist, evidence for a “mass grave” at Kamloops was thin.

While both pieces got many things right, they also made some errors.  In the case of Glavin’s arguments, he incorrectly minimized the role played by Indigenous leaders in constructing the current narrative.  While it is true that these leaders did not assert that there were “mass graves,” they did announce “the confirmation of the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School”.  They also maintained that the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc case had revealed “crimes” that must be investigated. A press release from the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc even uncritically accepted “Knowledge Keepers”’ recollections of “children as young as 6 years old being woken in the night to dig holes for burials in the apple orchard.”

While Glavin’s article downplayed the role played by Indigenous leaders in providing false information to the world, Kennedy’s article was too dismissive of their claims. In addition to inaccurately claiming that it was Indigenous leaders who broadcasted finding a “mass grave”, the article asserted that the memories of Indigenous “Knowledge Keepers” were “fake news” and a “hoax.”  This, however, is not known at this time, and the truth can only be determined with excavations.

The biggest problem in both pieces, however, is that they fixate on the references to “mass grave(s),” when what is important is determining whether the graves are illicit.  It needs to be recognized that there are thousands of “unmarked graves” in Canada in cemeteries where markers no longer remain. Glavin and Kennedy’s focus on the words “mass grave(s)” distracts readers from understanding this important distinction.

The people to whom Supernant, Carleton, and Sinclair refer to as “denialists,” therefore, are not engaged in what they are claiming. Everyone agrees that there are unmarked graves. What is being contested is whether or not these graves indicate possible foul play.  In the case of KIRS, Sinclair, Supernant, and Carleton accept the “knowings” of the “Knowledge Keepers” that there are children secretly buried in an apple orchard.  They maintain that this is a fact that has been “confirmed” by GPR showing 200 soil disturbances, and they accuse anyone who demands actual evidence of being in “denial” of “basic IRS facts.”  Even worse, there is innuendo that skepticism indicates a “ghoulish” interest in bones and burials, leading Supernant and Carleton to make the astonishing claim that “Indigenous people do not owe anyone the bodies of their children”.

As I argue in “Billy Remembers,” and elaborated upon in a Quillette podcast, there is no actual evidence supporting the claim of clandestine burials at KIRS. I pointed out that, although it was claimed that a human tooth and rib bone had been found in the orchard, these remain unsubstantiated.  GPR also was originally supposed to indicate that 215 soil disturbances resembled graves, but, soon after this claim was made, 15 of these turned out not to be verified.  This is why the GPR expert, Dr. Sarah Beaulieu, downgraded her estimate from 215 to 200.  Beaulieu’s findings are even more questionable when one considers that the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc leadership has refused to release her report about the GPR findings, preventing it from being scrutinized by disinterested experts.  Finally, there are the unreliable “knowings” of Indigenous “Knowledge Keepers” about burials, which have changed dramatically over the years.

As has been repeatedly stated by the so-called denialists, excavations are the only way to substantiate the existence of burials in the apple orchard at KIRS. It needs to be recognized, however, that these allegedly nefarious burials are not “probable,” as has been stated by Indigenous leaders, but highly unlikely.  This is because, if one wants to secretly bury 200 children, one would not wake up “6 year-olds” in the middle of the night to dig the graves.  Furthermore, there are no named children who have been declared to be missing.  If 200 children disappeared in the 1950s and 1960s, wouldn’t this have been noticed by parents, teachers, Indigenous leaders, and Indian Affairs administrators?  

The unlikelihood of there being clandestine graves explains why it is taking so long for the excavations to begin.  Excavations are not in the interests of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, who have been able to throw the whole country into national mourning on the basis of speculation. If excavations are done, the possibility must be accepted that remains might not be found.  If it were really believed that there were 200 murdered children buried in the apple orchard, wouldn’t there be a rush to excavate so that the attempts to bring the perpetrators to justice could begin?

All the discussions about the “unmarked graves” are connected to the allegations that Canada is a “genocidal country,” and reparations are being demanded on this basis. The idea of there being clandestine graves is essential for this narrative, and so the GPR findings of soil disturbances have been eagerly seized upon as evidence of secret burials. Instead of going along with this highly improbable speculation, we need to ask questions and receive reasonable answers to ensure that policy is based upon evidence instead of wishful thinking or propaganda.

It is not helpful for anyone to be told stories that are untrue. This just foments anger and prevents us from focusing on actual injustices that need to be rectified. Critical thinking, on the other hand, benefits everyone.  It enables us to develop the common understanding that is needed to develop a course of action that will enable us to live more peacefully and cooperatively with one another.

Frances Widdowson was a professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University from 2008-2021.  She is currently grieving her termination, and her case is going to arbitration in January 2023.  Episodes pertaining to Widdowson’s case, and links to her research, can be found on the website www.wokeacademy.info.