The Union of BC Indian Chiefs has penned a letter to the University of British Columbia calling on officials to crack down on residential school "denialism" and "uphold survivors' testimony."The move comes on the heels of an event held on campus by OneBC leader Dallas Brodie and former professor Frances Widdowson questioning the claim that the remains of 215 people had been located at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School..WATCH: Protestors at UBC force Dallas Brodie, Frances Widdowson off campus."Residential School denialism proliferates under the guise of academic freedom and freedom of speech, and promotes white supremacy, racism, and misinformation which should not be permitted in public institutions," the UBCIC wrote, expressing their "concern and disappointment" over the aforementioned event.The group argued that the views expressed by Brodie, Widdowson, and teacher-turned-OneBC candidate Jim McMurtry "have demonstrated a pattern of hate, duplicitous rhetoric and anti-indigenous racism which has caused immense harm to Residential School survivors and intergenerational survivors.""Academic institutions should be places of ethical inquiry, research, legitimate debate and knowledge production," they added, "not racism, bad faith arguments and hateful rhetoric."The UBCIC urged UBC to "have the courage to name these events for what they are, to call out racism, to demonstrate support for survivors and to promote credible fact-based information and resources on the well-documented history of Residential Schools in Canada.".When Brodie and her crew arrived at UBC, they were greeted by hundreds of protestors..Things quickly devolved into chaos, with attendees shouting over — and at — one another.."There's a lot of information out there that hasn't been reported in the mainstream media about what's really going on up at the Kamloops Indian Residential School," Brodie said, referring to the aforementioned claim, first made in 2021. "The band demanded money from the federal government to do the exhumations, and that money was paid, and no exhumations have been done."She argued that in the years since, an "industry" has developed that warrants looking into."What we really should have is a debate going on inside a forum at UBC where we can hear both sides of the story," Brodie added, citing the loudness of the protestors.Amidst all the noise, the Western Standard caught up with one protestor who agreed to share their perspective under the condition of anonymity."As a descendant of family members who were forcibly taking from their families and forced into residential schools and suffered abuse, it's terrible," they said of discussions surrounding the alleged mass graves. "It re-traumatizes the survivors. The intergenerational impacts are already bad enough, and then when you're constantly being reminded of the the forced assimilation — genocide is the better word for it — you know, it's a struggle."They argued that regardless of where one stands on the issue, such events are not productive."I believe that people should have the right to freedom of speech," they added, "but they should also maybe base their stuff on factual evidence and not just be denialists.".In a letter of her own, Brodie slammed UBC for "fail[ing] to uphold freedom of expression and safety of peaceful visitors.""UBC administration, campus security, and the RCMP were aware in advance that a violent protest was being organized in response to our presence on campus," she wrote. "Despite the advance notice, our group was met by a loud, aggressive, and ultimately violent protest. Members of our group were harassed, threatened, and physically assaulted. The protest was organized by the Communist Party, and individuals acting as Samidoun rally marshals, including a Samidoun director Dave Diewert, were actively involved. Samidoun is a designated terrorist organization in Canada."Brodie went on to note that "after about forty minutes of escalating hostility directed at us, police and campus security ordered our group to leave the campus, citing 'safety concerns'.""We were not issued a written trespass notice," she added. "At no point did police or campus security take meaningful action to stop the assaults against us, to identify or remove violent individuals, or to create a safety perimeter. When we were ordered to leave, we were given no supervision or protection. The hostile crowd chased us, continued to threaten us, and we were forced to barricade ourselves inside a building and call 911 because police were nowhere to be seen. Only later did police arrive, lock us inside the building, and eventually escort us off campus by bus."Brodie argued that this "represents a profound failure to uphold basic standards of public safety, neutrality, and freedom of expression," and asked UBC to do better. She asked for a "clear, written explanation" of why UBC Security and RCMP made no prior arrangements to control the protest, why her group was asked to leave, why Widdowson was arrested, what UBC will to do "discipline" the students and activists involved, and what UBC will do to ensure OneBC will be able to safely return to campus in the future.Brodie also asked for a "formal apology."In a statement following the event, UBC declared that as an institution it is "fundamentally committed to upholding free inquiry, the free exchange of ideas and opinion, academic freedom, diversity of perspective, and reasonable debate."
