Guest columnist Jacques Rouillard, professor emeritus, department of history, Université de Montréal.(Ed. note: This column has been translated from the original French version).The World Press Photo Organization recently awarded its 2022 top prize to a photograph published by the New York Times showing little girls’ red and ochre dresses hanging on several crosses.. ROUILLARD: 215 dead children — Where’s the proof?Photo by Amber Brackenfor The New York Times .The red dresses are meant to symbolize the abuse of native mothers and the ochre dresses are meant to symbolize the suffering of the children at the Kamloops residential school. A rainbow ends its curve near the site where the bodies of some 215 children from the former residential school were allegedly discovered. The photo is striking and certainly deserves an award for artistry, if not for accuracy..It illustrated a story in the May 28 edition of the New York Times, which explained “for decades, most indigenous children in Canada were taken from their families and forced into boarding schools. A large number never returned home, their families given only vague explanations, or none at all.” The indigenous community “has found evidence of what happened to some of its missing children: a mass grave containing the remains of 215 children on the grounds of a former residential school.” Similar news stories continue to make the rounds in Canada and around the world to this day..In June 2021, protest marches were held in several Canadian cities to denounce the “discovery of the remains” in Kamloops. Children’s shoes were placed on church steps in several cities. No less than 68 Catholic churches were vandalized, burned or desecrated in Canada since the revelation of the discovery of the alleged grave sites. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately referred to “a dark and shameful chapter” in Canadian history. The prime minister denounced the vandalism, but said he was sympathetic to “the shameful history that we are all becoming increasingly aware of …”.But were bodies really found buried in a mass grave? Do the known facts correspond to the interpretation given to them?.At first glance, the Kamloops residential school in British Columbia may seem very far away to Quebecers and their responsibility in this tragedy may be very small. This is not the case, however, because behind the accusation against the Catholic Church there are religious men and women who came in large numbers from Quebec to teach and Christianize aboriginal people..Indeed, British Columbia and the Western provinces were seen as a missionary area since the second half of the 19th century. In many residential schools, education was given in French until 1911. In operation from 1890 to 1969, the Kamloops residential school was run for a long time by the oblates of Mary Immaculate of Quebec and the Sisters of Saint Anne of Montreal. In 1936, the Kamloops residential school had five oblates and 23 sisters of St. Anne. As the number of students increased, eight oblates and 20 Sisters of St. Anne provided instruction in 1960. .Now, after claims of abuse inflicted on the children in residential schools, the religious communities are accused of actually murdering their young pupils. Beyond the allegation of “cultural genocide” endorsed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there are now allegations of “physical genocide,” a conclusion the commission explicitly rejected in its 2015 report..The Kamloops revelations sparked a moral panic among aboriginal leaders over the discovery of purported graves of children near other residential schools across Canada. Some of the Kamloops elders even talk of a vast conspiracy on the part of those who ran the residential schools to murder aboriginal youth and conceal the deaths..It’s unbelievable that a preliminary search for an alleged mass grave in Kamloops could lead to such a spiral of claims endorsed by the Canadian government and picked up by the world’s media..No names of missing children have been revealed over the years, no protests have been made by parents, no band councils have objected, no one has filed a complaint with the police. As with any crime committed, verifiable evidence must be provided, especially if the accused are long dead and cannot defend themselves..In Kamloops, it is important that the excavations take place as quickly as possible so that the truth can prevail over emotion and speculation..Guest columnist Jacques Rouillard, professor emeritus, department of history, Université de Montréal
Guest columnist Jacques Rouillard, professor emeritus, department of history, Université de Montréal.(Ed. note: This column has been translated from the original French version).The World Press Photo Organization recently awarded its 2022 top prize to a photograph published by the New York Times showing little girls’ red and ochre dresses hanging on several crosses.. ROUILLARD: 215 dead children — Where’s the proof?Photo by Amber Brackenfor The New York Times .The red dresses are meant to symbolize the abuse of native mothers and the ochre dresses are meant to symbolize the suffering of the children at the Kamloops residential school. A rainbow ends its curve near the site where the bodies of some 215 children from the former residential school were allegedly discovered. The photo is striking and certainly deserves an award for artistry, if not for accuracy..It illustrated a story in the May 28 edition of the New York Times, which explained “for decades, most indigenous children in Canada were taken from their families and forced into boarding schools. A large number never returned home, their families given only vague explanations, or none at all.” The indigenous community “has found evidence of what happened to some of its missing children: a mass grave containing the remains of 215 children on the grounds of a former residential school.” Similar news stories continue to make the rounds in Canada and around the world to this day..In June 2021, protest marches were held in several Canadian cities to denounce the “discovery of the remains” in Kamloops. Children’s shoes were placed on church steps in several cities. No less than 68 Catholic churches were vandalized, burned or desecrated in Canada since the revelation of the discovery of the alleged grave sites. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately referred to “a dark and shameful chapter” in Canadian history. The prime minister denounced the vandalism, but said he was sympathetic to “the shameful history that we are all becoming increasingly aware of …”.But were bodies really found buried in a mass grave? Do the known facts correspond to the interpretation given to them?.At first glance, the Kamloops residential school in British Columbia may seem very far away to Quebecers and their responsibility in this tragedy may be very small. This is not the case, however, because behind the accusation against the Catholic Church there are religious men and women who came in large numbers from Quebec to teach and Christianize aboriginal people..Indeed, British Columbia and the Western provinces were seen as a missionary area since the second half of the 19th century. In many residential schools, education was given in French until 1911. In operation from 1890 to 1969, the Kamloops residential school was run for a long time by the oblates of Mary Immaculate of Quebec and the Sisters of Saint Anne of Montreal. In 1936, the Kamloops residential school had five oblates and 23 sisters of St. Anne. As the number of students increased, eight oblates and 20 Sisters of St. Anne provided instruction in 1960. .Now, after claims of abuse inflicted on the children in residential schools, the religious communities are accused of actually murdering their young pupils. Beyond the allegation of “cultural genocide” endorsed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there are now allegations of “physical genocide,” a conclusion the commission explicitly rejected in its 2015 report..The Kamloops revelations sparked a moral panic among aboriginal leaders over the discovery of purported graves of children near other residential schools across Canada. Some of the Kamloops elders even talk of a vast conspiracy on the part of those who ran the residential schools to murder aboriginal youth and conceal the deaths..It’s unbelievable that a preliminary search for an alleged mass grave in Kamloops could lead to such a spiral of claims endorsed by the Canadian government and picked up by the world’s media..No names of missing children have been revealed over the years, no protests have been made by parents, no band councils have objected, no one has filed a complaint with the police. As with any crime committed, verifiable evidence must be provided, especially if the accused are long dead and cannot defend themselves..In Kamloops, it is important that the excavations take place as quickly as possible so that the truth can prevail over emotion and speculation..Guest columnist Jacques Rouillard, professor emeritus, department of history, Université de Montréal
