As Frontier readers know I am a member of a group of writers and researchers who came together following the May 27, 2021 announcement that the remains of 215 former students of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School had been found on the school grounds. Simply put, the members of our research group did not believe that claim. Over the past three plus years we have worked together to have the results of our research published in various publications, including Frontier, True North, Western Standard, Dorchester Review, and C2C Journal. Why only the alternative media? Because with the exception of The National Post, no mainstream newspaper or broadcaster has been at all interested in publishing fact-based information on the topic.
Throughout the past three plus years no member of our group has worked harder on this project than independent researcher, Nina Green. Below is one of her latest efforts. Anyone wanting to take a deep dive into the exact details and chronology of that remarkable 2021 claim will find this compilation fascinating.
At some point, after the current federal government and its CBC management ally are swept from the scene, the general public will become very angry when they come to understand how they have been deceived by a deeply corrupt indigenous leadership, the government, a thoroughly incompetent mainstream media, and a lazy RCMP top brass. The fact is that the “announcement” that priests somehow killed and secretly buried hundreds – then thousands – of indigenous children was a nonsensical claim that should never have been given the time of day. It was not based on facts, but on conspiracy theories promulgated by a fabulist, named Kevin Annett. However, because of the staggering incompetence of the series of “true believers” described below, Canada has labelled itself – falsely- as a genocidal monster, passed the economy-killing UNDRIP, and is spending hundreds of millions of dollars skulking around graveyards in search of phantom “missing children”. What Nina Green is describing below is what a once proud nation looks like when it loses its way. Enjoy the deep dive, but prepare to be outraged. – Brian Giesbrecht
As we recently learned, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and their Parliamentary Secretary at the time; the Kamloops City Council; a select group of journalists – and likely the BC government, the Assembly of First Nations, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops – had advance notice of the Kamloops Band’s media release on 27 May 2021 falsely claiming that it had discovered ‘the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School’.
According to her new book, The Knowing, Tanya Talaga was among the hand-picked group of journalists given two days’ advance notice and an embargoed copy of the Kamloops Band’s 27 May 2021 media release by the Band’s acting media relations co-ordinator, Racelle Kooy.
After contacting Racelle Kooy by phone, Talaga immediately travelled to Kamloops where, a few days later, her editor at the Globe and Mail phoned to tell her that “The Prime Minister’s Office, the RCMP, is questioning the numbers – the 215.”
Talaga’s response?
I told my editor that what she heard was categorically not true. The number was correct. . . .
My head was spinning, but I had one clear thought: we needed Murray Sinclair. Tk’emlups needed Murray, former senator and the former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, or TRC. He was my next call.
Talaga phoned Sinclair early on the morning of 3 June 2021, and according to Hansard, Sinclair castigated the Kamloops investigation run by Indigenous RCMP Superintendent Sydney Lecky at a Parliamentary Committee meeting later that day:
I understand that in British Columbia…. I got a call early this morning, in fact, saying that the RCMP have now declared that a major investigation is going to occur into the bodies that have been located in Kamloops, and they are now beginning to question those who have made this story available. Unfortunately, in the typical, heavy-handed and ham-handed police way, they are simply intimidating people, rather than helping them. We need to have a discussion with the police about how they’re handling it, because they should not be pursuing those who are revealing the information. They should, in fact, be looking at and looking for those records. They should be looking at what we know as opposed to trying to pursue witnesses.
The young lady who did the research on the ground-penetrating radar, for example, is quite scared of the approach that the RCMP have taken with her, and I don’t blame her. My advice to her—and others—has been to make sure she has legal counsel available to her so that she is not mistreated going forward.
It is noteworthy that Sinclair said the RCMP should not be interviewing witnesses, particularly since in a New York Times interview (transcript attached) Garry Gottfriedson of the Kamloops Band said that he and his brother, Ted Gottfriedson Sr, had talked to two elderly men at the apple orchard the day after the Kamloops Band had received Dr Beaulieu’s verbally-delivered GPR results who claimed to have helped bury their fellow students, a claim mentioned obliquely by Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray on page 98 of her interim report in July 2023. There were thus living persons who claimed personal involvement, yet Sinclair said the RCMP should not be interviewing witnesses but should instead be conducting historical research.
Moreover Sinclair said that Dr Sarah Beaulieu, who had done the GPR work (and whose identity at the time was being kept secret by the Kamloops Band), had been ‘scared’ by the RCMP’s questions, which is understandable if she had had to tell the RCMP that she had not provided a written report to the
Kamloops Band, but had merely given them the number 215 verbally once she had finished her work in the apple orchard.
What was the result of Talaga’s phone call and Sinclair’s comments to the Parliamentary Committee?
According to news reports on 4 June 2021, the RCMP took an unprecedented and inexplicable step – it turned its investigation over to the Kamloops Band.
Strangely, the news reports of this unprecedented decision by the RCMP emanated from a video press conference by Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Kamloops Band which the Canadian public was not allowed to see at the time, and has never been allowed to see to this day.
In early June 2021, Canadians were anxiously awaiting factual confirmation of the alleged horrific discovery at Kamloops which had shocked the world. Chief Casimir’s video press conference on 4 June 2021 was expected to supply Canadians with that factual confirmation, including an update on the RCMP investigation, and was scheduled to be livestreamed by APTN News.
However at the last minute, a panicky-sounding Racelle Kooy vetoed the livestreaming, telling journalists ‘You have to understand that there’s things that we’re not going to disclose’ . . . ‘When we want to livestream we’re going to control the when and where of livestream’. See attached transcript.
Thus the only Canadians allowed to watch Chief Casimir read her prepared statement were the small hand-picked group of journalists who had been granted special access to the video press conference.
And because a copy of Chief Casimir’s prepared statement was never released to the media or the public, what Chief Casimir said was only spottily reported by journalists who had to rely on memory or hastily jotted-down notes.
One of the journalists who had been granted access was the CBC’s Angela Sterritt. In an article time-stamped 10:39 a.m. PDT and in a series of tweets time-stamped 11:06 a.m.(copies attached), Sterritt reported that the video press conference had been designated as a ‘trauma-informed press conference’. Sterritt called the term ‘something very new to non-Indigenous journalists but very familiar to Indigenous ones’.
What the term ‘trauma-informed press conference’ appears to mean in reality is that the Kamloops Band was too overcome with grief to provide factual information to the Canadian public, but not too overcome with grief to hold a full week of meetings with ‘more than a dozen officials’ including politicians, church and Indigenous leaders, and even a United Nations expert. According to Sterritt:
Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said the community has spoken with federal and provincial ministers, a local Catholic bishop, Indigenous leaders and an independent expert from the United Nations in the week since announcing the preliminary findings.
Sterritt also tweeted what on the surface appeared to be an important correction by Chief Casimir. The New York Times and other media outlets had falsely reported that the Kamloops Band had discovered a ‘mass grave’. Quoting Chief Casimir, Sterritt tweeted:
“This is NOT a mass grave. These are preliminary findings. We will be sharing the written report in the middle of the month.”
Inexplicably, on 6 July 2021 Chief Casimir completely negated this ‘correction’ when she and Chief Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith Band moved and seconded an Assembly of First Nations resolution (see attached copy) falsely asserting that the Kamloops Band actually had discovered a ‘mass grave’, an AFN resolution which was not reported by the media at the time and of which the Canadian public remains largely unaware.
In fact, neither a ‘mass grave’ nor the ‘remains of 215 children’ had been discovered by the Kamloops Band at the time, or since. Was Chief Casimir’s ‘correction’ (later reversed by her AFN resolution) that what had been discovered was not a ‘mass grave’ merely a tactic to divert attention away from the fact that ‘the remains of 215 children’ had not been discovered either? The Kamloops Band recently walked back its earlier claim that it had discovered ‘the remains of 215 children’ to a claim that it had merely discovered ‘215 anomalies’. According to Dr Sarah Beaulieu in her 15 July 2021 oral presentation (see attached transcript), in GPR terminology an anomaly could be anything, and is thus actually nothing.
According to Beaulieu, an anomaly is not even a ‘target of interest’:
In GPR terminology a sub-surface anomaly refers to any irregularity noted below the surface, while a target of interest suggests that the anomaly has an increased index of suspicion for being the object of the search.
So what Chief Casimir should have said in her video press conference if she really wanted to issue a correction was that the Kamloops Band had not discovered a mass grave, but more importantly, it had not discovered ‘the remains of 215 children’ either. Chief Casimir didn’t do that. Only now, three years later, has Chief Casimir finally admitted that GPR merely found ‘215 anomalies’, which could be anything, and which are almost certainly the remains of the 2000 lineal feet of septic field trenches installed in 1924 to dispose of the school’s sewage.
In the same tweet Sterritt reported what appeared to be very welcome news for Canadians. The Kamloops Band promised to provide hard evidence in support of the claim that it had discovered ‘the remains of 215 children’. Chief Casimir promised to release, by mid-June, Dr Sarah Beaulieu’s written report on her ground-penetrating radar (GPR) work which had given rise to the Kamloops Band’s claim that it had found ‘the remains of 215 children’.
But as Canadians now know, that was an empty promise.
According to Angela Sterritt, and to a later article in the Globe and Mail, Dr Beaulieu’s first ‘report’ to the Kamloops Band was not in writing. It was merely a verbal report to Diena Jules at the site as Dr Beaulieu finished her GPR work in the apple orchard on 24 May 2021. On 1 June 2021, Sterritt told CBC interviewer Jayme Poisson:
So these new findings are preliminary, meaning that a report from the ground penetrating radar specialist will come out in mid-June. And that number 215 was verbally provided from the specialist to the Nation. And so once that report comes out in June I’m told there will most likely be an archaeological dig.
The Globe and Mail reported:
At the time, Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said the results were released quickly after an early report from the scene by the technician doing the work, and that a full report would be released in June, though it was ultimately delayed several weeks.
That the Kamloops Band’s media release that shocked the world could have been sent out solely on the basis of a verbal report by a GPR technician whose identity was being kept secret seems astoundingly reckless, but according to Angela Sterritt and to the Globe and Mail, that was what happened.
Thus, a detailed written report was obviously needed to inform the Canadian public of who the GPR specialist was, and what she had actually found, and Chief Casimir promised on 4 June 2021 that there would be a written report, and that it would be released to the public.
However when the GPR technician’s identity was finally disclosed to the public – more than a month and a half later at the Kamloops Band’s media event on 15 July 2021 – the technician, Dr Sarah Beaulieu, did not mention a written report in her oral presentation, and immediately after the event Racelle Kooy told journalists that the Band was not going to release her written report:
Racelle Kooy, a spokesperson for the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, said a full copy of Dr. Beaulieu’s report would not be released to the public and media, but that “the core of the findings are contained in the release and Dr. Beaulieu gave an extensive presentation today.”
Was the real purpose of Chief Casimir’s 4 June 2021 video press conference not to correct the false?
‘mass grave’ claim by the media, or to make a promise the Kamloops Band actually intended to keep about releasing a written report of Dr Beaulieu’s findings, but rather to persuade the public to accept that the Kamloops Band had taken charge of an RCMP investigation, something unprecedented in Canadian history?
While people were distracted by Chief Casimir’s purported ‘correction’ of the mass grave claim (later reversed by her AFN resolution) and by her empty promise to release Dr Beaulieu’s written report, something much bigger had gone on – the RCMP investigation into the Kamloops Band’s false claim to have discovered ‘the remains of 215 children’ had been turned over to the Kamloops Band itself.
According to Angela Sterritt’s CBC article, Staff Sgt Bill Wallace of the local RCMP detachment on the Kamloops reserve had said, in a statement to the CBC, that the RCMP and the Kamloops Band were working harmoniously on the investigation:
“the Tk’emlúps Rural RCMP has attended the site, participated in meetings and will continue working closely with the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc community leaders in determining the next steps and the best way to be involved in any investigative avenues explored going forward.”
However in her prepared statement, Chief Casimir deliberately undercut the public’s confidence in the RCMP investigation and in Staff Sgt Wallace’s claim of cooperation between the Kamloops Band and the RCMP by urging the public not to lose sight of the RCMP’s history. Sterritt reported that:
Casimir said her community is working with the RCMP to investigate the potential unmarked burial sites but also told reporters she didn’t want the public to lose sight of the history of the RCMP.
“We also need to declare that the RCMP forcibly removed children from their families to bring them to the residential school,” Casimir said.
According to Sterritt, Staff Sgt Wallace had provided his statement to the CBC. However the CBC has never released it.
Other journalists dutifully echoed the message that the RCMP could not be trusted to investigate. The Globe and Mail’s Beatrice Paez reported Murray Sinclair’s ‘concerns over the RCMP’s approach’ and his claim that the RCMP were intimidating people. Paez reported that the RCMP detachment on the Kamloops reserve had indeed confirmed that ‘a probe was under way’, and had denied there was any friction. However, belying the claim that there was no friction, Paez also noted that Staff Sgt Wallace had said the Kamloops Band was now in charge of the investigation, and the RCMP would only play a supporting role:
Former Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair Murray Sinclair told a parliamentary committee yesterday that the RCMP has opened an investigation into the discovery of children’s remains at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The retired senator and judge raised concerns over the RCMP’s approach, saying community members are being intimidated, rather than receiving help from the Mounties. “They are now beginning to question those who have made this story available,” he testified.
The rural office of the local RCMP detachment in Kamloops confirmed a probe is under way, but denied there was any friction as they work through the next steps. Staff-Sergeant Bill Wallace said in a statement that the RCMP officers are playing a supporting role, while the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc are in charge of the investigation. The Tk’emlúps te Secwépem deferred comment until a planned press conference this morning.
Levi Landry, another journalist who was allowed to participate, also reported that the Kamloops Band was ‘taking the lead on police investigations’, and that Chief Casimir had raised ‘trust issues’ concerning the RCMP:
Tk’emlups te Secwepemc is taking the lead on police investigations into the unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School.
Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said in a press conference today, June 4, that it’s important to remember the RCMP’s role in Canada’s residential schools.
“We must be clear that they forcibly removed children from their families to take them to residential schools,” Casimir said.
In a news statement yesterday, the Tk’emlups Rural RCMP said a file is open to investigate the site, and they had both attended the site and participated in meetings with Tk’emlups leadership.
“The Band remains as the lead official at this time, and that the RCMP will continue to support the Band in determining next steps,” Staff Sgt. Bill Wallace said in the release.
Wallace said the detachment will allow Band leaders to determine the best way for police to be involved, while RCMP remains “supportive, respectful and culturally sensitive to the Indigenous communities that are impacted.”
At this morning’s press conference, Casimir indicated the RCMP’s active involvement in forcing children into residential school’s represents trust issues between police and indigenous communities.
Both Tk’emlups Rural RCMP and B.C. Coroners Service have been in discussions with Band leadership and will continue to investigate, through direction from Tk’emlups te Secwepemc.
A final report of the preliminary findings at at [sic] the unmarked grave site is expected to be released near the end of June.
Colton Davies of Radio NL, another of the journalists allowed to participate in the video press conference, reported that Chief Casimir had deflected potential hard questions by journalists about ‘the technology, costs and details of the findings’, thus implying that the RCMP had acted out of turn in questioning Dr Beaulieu about such matters:
The chief of Tk‘emlúps te Secwepemc says a final report on findings outside of the Kamloops Indian Residential School should be done before July 1.
In prepared statements to media today, Rosanne Casimir says the investigation is continuing after 215 unmarked graves were found at the site.
“This is not a mass grave, but rather, unmarked burial sites that are, to our knowledge, also undocumented. These are preliminary findings, and we expect to have a final report near the end of this month,” she says.
“For all the questions regarding the technology, costs and details of the findings, know that we will share when we get to that point… We have a lot of work to do together. While the reality is shocking and we feel some level of anger, it is time to be gentle with ourselves, and with each other.”
Michael Potestio, a journalist with Kamloops This Week, also reported that Chief Casimir had fended off questions about the capabilities of GPR, telling reporters such questions were ‘premature’, and again implying that the RCMP had acting inappropriately in questioning Dr Beaulieu:
Speaking to reporters in a virtual press conference on Friday (June 4), eight days following the revelation, Tk’emlúps Chief Rosanne Casimir said it was “only the beginning” and clarified the discovery by ground-penetrating radar is not a mass grave, but rather individual, unmarked grave sites.
Casimir said the band’s findings are preliminary and a full report is expected to be completed by the end of June, which will be shared with band members, home communities of residential school students and the media.
Casimir did not address questions related to the technical aspects of the use of the ground-penetrating radar, noting the band’s findings and the technical aspects of the investigation will be laid out in the report.
“For all the questions regarding the technology, costs and details of the findings, know that we will share when we get to that point,” Casimir said. “Asking now is very premature at this time.”
The band, in its announcement on May 27, said it had found the remains of children who were students of the school, some as young as three years old, with the help of a ground-penetrating radar survey on the Victoria Day long weekend.
Very few other journalists covered Chief Casimir’s 4 June 2021 video press conference, likely because journalists who not been hand-picked to participate could not view the video once Racelle Kooy abruptly cancelled the livestreaming.
Considering the magnitude of the issue Canada was facing, it is astonishing that Chief Casimir’s video press conference received such limited media coverage; that the prepared statement Chief Casimir read at the video press conference was never released to the media at large; that the video which records in full what Chief Casimir actually did say in her prepared statement has never been made available to the public; and that the CBC has never released the statement provided to it by Staff Sgt Wallace.
So what did Canadians learn from Chief Casimir’s trauma-informed video press conference?
Nothing.
And perhaps that was the whole purpose. The purported ‘correction’ about whether a mass grave had been found deflected attention away from the Kamloops Band’s false claim that ‘the remains of 215 children’ had been found. Characterization of the event as a trauma-informed press conference was designed to make journalists feel that it would be insensitive to ask for factual evidence that ‘the remains of 215 children who were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School’ had been discovered, and journalists were further put off with a false promise that a written report from Dr Beaulieu (whose identity was being kept secret) would be forthcoming in mid-June which would answer their questions. At the same time, journalists’ suspicions were lulled by the statement that the Kamloops RCMP had opened a file and were investigating, and were subtly led to believe that there was nothing unusual about the leadership of an RCMP investigation being turned over to the Kamloops Band when in fact it was a step unprecedented in Canadian history with the potential to seriously undermine the Canadian justice system.
Nina Green is an independent researcher who lives in British Columbia.
