The present author has, since the first reports of unmarked graves of children who attended Indian Residential Schools appeared in June 2021, challenged these results (see earlier postings to this blog). The flow of information began with the report of 215 unmarked graves discovered near the Kamloops Indian Residential School. It was initiated by a local First Nations Chief who, with an operator of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) device, "discovered" these supposed unmarked graves (often termed "mass graves" by the media) and reported their findings to a Kamloops newspaper. The findings were eagerly picked up by virtually every media source in Canada. The result was that Canada was accused of genocidal actions, and colonialism. 43 churches were burned, since the Catholic and Anglican Churches operated these educational institutions and were blamed for unspeakable crimes. The truth is that the schools were opened at the behest of the Chiefs and Clan mothers, or in order to conform to the terms of treaties which required that schools for the children be created. The lies and woeful distortions of the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" were trotted out as the only facts that mattered, and other First Nations people whose motives were apparently financial stepped forward with stories (speaking "their truth") that at face value were outlandish, and the public were willing to accept what they were fed uncritically. The woke mob became involved and the matter became a side show where Canada's good name was besmirched and put in the same category as the Spanish Conquistadors of Central and South America. All of a sudden orange T shirts representing "Every Child Matters" were seen everywhere, flags were left at half mast for months, memorials were established at the sites of the residential schools, and on and on - all based on nothing but blips on the screen of a very crude device (GPR) that does not do what is claimed by these Chiefs (suggesting that it can see graves). The author pleaded with members of the archaeological establishment in Canada to step forward and reveal the fact that without actual excavation, and the examination of any bone material examined by a physical anthropologist, the GPR findings are worthless. This was to no avail - since this profession has been infected by the same woke - cancel culture mob that has carved its destructive path across all professions.
The author pleaded with the editors or most of Canada's mainstream newspapers, that if they would not publish the author's letters to the editor and opinion piece submissions, to please request that one of their journalists explore the validity of these GPR claims. June 2021 to January 2022 and dead silence prevailed. This appears to be a classic example of subtle censorship in the service of politically correct dogma. The irony is that anecdotal stories from "survivors", which were in essence conspiracy theories that would make believers in Q-Anon blush, were lapped up by the media like kittens at a saucer of milk. Objective evidence or cross validation was never considered to be necessary.
Finally, a (well documented) report stating in no uncertain terms that no bodies of children who attended residential school had yet been found has been published. The article of 11 January 2022 in The Dorchester Review, entitled, "In Kamloops Not One Body Has Been Found", as seen here, was written not by a journalist, but by an emeritus professor of history at Universite de Montreal, Jacques Rouillard. Being retired means that he is impervious to the woke mob's cancel culture which has caused fear and intimidation (literally that their jobs would be jeopardized if they dared to provide facts / evidence and speak the truth relating to the claims of a perceived "protected hands off group" - First Nations Chiefs and spokespersons). The media, and professors at all universities across Canada, have been paralyzed by the woke movement which has literally grabbed the reins of the spoken word, and control what can and cannot be said.
It is encouraging to note that an article of 17 January 2022 in The National Post, what might be considered "mainstream media", picks up on the above article by Professor Rouillard. The article is entitled, "What we don't know about unmarked graves at residential schools" by Barbara Kay, as seen here. The article excoriates the latest woke fads which support the belief that "all Indian causes must be legitimate" asserted with cult - like religious fervour.
What must be emphasized is that most of our early ancestors are buried in unmarked graves - at least those of us who are "old stock" Canadians. There are abandoned cemeteries dotted across the entire country. If there were markers installed at one time they may have decayed, been swept away in a flood, or have been vandalized to the point where any markers are in so many pieces that they have been discarded. This is precisely the situation with the burial place of the three first generations of my family in Ontario. By the time I first visited the site it was a corn field. Old timers recalled about 100 burials there back in the 1940s - but by 1963 there were no markers remaining, and the owner of the surrounding land simply incorporated the cemetery into his farming operation. After many years of legal wrangling, even with family members, the sacred ground where bones and coffin handles were churned up by every ploughing operation, has experienced a more benign fate. It has been explored by a licensed archaeologist, officially declared a cemetery under the laws of the Province, surveyed, and posts installed along the margins with a marker describing the cemetery. Family have access, and the author drives his truck across the Grand River flats when there is no corn in the fields in order to pay their respects. Another 100 or so ancestors lie in unmarked graves in local cemeteries but there is no way to mark sites that are somewhere among the existing markers - but where? Many authors act as if it is unusual or disrespectful to have unmarked graves. They simply do not understand the history of Canada, and entertain only their own distorted version of what "should be".
Hopefully the above very important articles, one by an academic and the other by a journalist, will receive wide recognition and serve to suppress the destructive impulses of the "noisy" leftist - Marxist - anarchist - woke set whose current grip on what gets published will hopefully be swept aside by the truth, based on fact based evidence and scientific methodology - as opposed to party dogma and fear of cancellation. Without a shadow of a doubt all of the above applies to the work being conducted at the Mohawk Institute, for which Six Nations leaders such as the present elected Chief must take responsibility - considering the amount of Canadian taxpayer money being spent greedily and frivolously (considering all of the past GPR work done there and the burial records of St. Paul's Chapel of the Mohawks showing the respectful burials of children who died at the Residential School).
Edit of 24 January 2022: Once again the Six Nations of the Grand River have whined sufficiently to extract over $10 million from the Canadian Government to go on a wild goose chase as seen in an article published today in The Hamilton Spectator, entitled, "Survivors of Mohawk Institute Residential School in Ontario get $10.4 M from Ottawa to look for unmarked graves" as seen here. Greed knows no bounds since they also expect the Province to kick in monies for this unwarranted effort. Please read previous postings to this blog to understand the futility of such an endeavour. The children were buried in consecrated ground in the Anglican Cemetery at St. Paul's Chapel of the Mohawks across the road from the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School - this author has provided the information in this and other venues (including the sending of the information to the Rez newspaper, Two Row Times). It matters not what I or others say if it does not comport with the "party line".
