STIRLING: “Nothing controversial” in “Grave Error” - indigenous psychologist

For the past two months, the city of Quesnel, B.C., has been a boiling pot of rage against Mayor Ron Paull for the crime of being married to Pat Morton, who gave a book to a friend of hers. The book was called “Grave Error - How The Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools).” It’s a collection of scholarly essays by historians, anthropologists, former Indian Residential School staff and political scientists, many of whom have been deeply involved in the study of Canadian Crown-Indigenous relations for decades. However, the authors collectively reject claims of clandestine burials and murderous priests and nuns — and instead report the opposite view — that many indigenous children were saved from poverty, domestic violence, and destitution by attending Indian Residential Schools.The casual sharing of this book between long-time friends in Quesnel led to outraged accusations between councillors and leaders of regional First Nations groups, culminating in a large march downtown and a steamy council meeting that made national press. Formerly friendly relations between the city and regional tribes teeter on the brink… over a book. This is far from reconciliation, even though, according to at least one Indigenous psychologist, the book is not controversial and reflects his historical knowledge and personal experience in his professional healing work.A recent interview on “Rational Space Disputations” between much-reviled scholar Frances Widdowson and much-respected Indigenous psychologist, Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson, has Robertson telling us that he’s read the book and says “there’s nothing controversial” about its contents. Robertson is author of a two-part book: “The Evolved Self: Mapping an Understanding of Who we Are.”Robertson tells us that the chiefs in Saskatchewan wanted residential schools to continue to operate when the government wanted to close them down. The chiefs saw the value of the competitive sport programs for youth, which can only effectively operate with sufficient numbers of kids to train skilled teams. Many First Nations communities are small in number, so the aggregation of students at one residential school created a talent pool, and a context for the methodical training required for sports excellence, which in turn, provided the kids with leadership skills and more.Robertson recalls a CBC documentary from 1962 featuring an apparently successful and happy Kamloops IRS student body enjoying time with their Oblate priest and Sisters of St Ann mentors.Likewise, Robertson affirms that residential schools were often a child welfare haven for many children escaping dysfunctional or dangerous homes. This is not news. University of Alberta historian Robert Carney, father of the much more famous Mark Carney, had said as much decades ago, in his critique of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples report.Maybe the folks at Quesnel can calm down. Maybe Kimberly Murray, Special Interlocutor on Missing Children, and University of Manitoba scholar Sean Carleton, both well-known for their slap-downs of ‘residential school denialism,’ can tone down or turn off their witch hunt rhetoric against those who question the claims of ‘genocide’ and clandestine burials (often referred to in the international media as ‘mass graves’).Robertson has much to tell us. His nuanced view, based on professional skills and years of personal experience in helping wounded people heal, is a welcome addition to what needs to be a national conversation on how we go forward. He points out that Christianity was long part of Indigenous life in Canada and that many Indigenous people find strength there, while others are inspired by traditional rituals. He also dares to point out that some indigenous spiritual memes were actually developed by non-indigenous New Agers back in the 1950s.Robertson has spent years working with former residential school students and with a number of leading indigenous health programs in Saskatchewan, including a very successful suicide-prevention program. He confirms that much of what is said in the book “Grave Error…” is true and uncontroversial, even if difficult for some people to read or hear because it challenges the media-set genocide narrative — a narrative he rejects.The book “Grave Error…” takes the view that Canadians have been misled about the news of a clandestine burials at Kamloops (Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc) in the Heritage Park on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The main problem is that the media asked no questions about the methods employed to come up with the shocking claim that there are clandestine burials — evidence of genocide.The media has not asked for a list of names of missing children. The closest thing that exists is the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Memorial Register.' Of the names, 423 are of children who actually died on the premises of a residential school, most from tuberculosis or other epidemics. The several thousand names of others are those of people whose deaths had nothing to do with residential school; it seems some names were added as loved ones had simply wanted their relatives to be publicly remembered.A review of previous land use in the area where the Kamloops Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) work was done reveals that this area is lined with trenches of an abandoned septic field which left ground disturbances, likely matching locations to the claim of graves found.GPR is a kind of surface ultrasound which can see below-ground disturbances, but which cannot identify coffins, graves, bodies or human remains. For that, you have to excavate.Three years on, no one has excavated. The Kamloops First Nation claims the ground is sacred and thus untouchable. They have received ~$8 million from taxpayers to excavate, but have done nothing with the money to date, as far as anyone knows. The RCMP began an investigation of this alleged crime scene and were summarily called off; they handed the investigation over to the Kamloops Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Band! Certainly, it is unheard of that claimed victims investigate their own alleged crime scene. Meanwhile, Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc has closed their band office for the anniversary of the alleged discovery. Their press release now frames the find as, 'confirmation of 215 anomalies' which is a far cry from their first announcement, reported by CFJC as: “Tk’emlups confirms bodies of 215 children buried at former Kamloops Indian Residential School site.”Nonetheless, serious damage has been done to Canada’s global reputation and our sense of self as a nation. The Assembly of First Nations has called for the UN to investigate Canada for crimes against humanity and that Canada should be indicted at the International Criminal Court based on the Kamloops ‘findings’ — crimes for which there is no evidence. Meanwhile Canada has been blood libeled worldwide over a history that is not controversial and is worthy of respect, to people who know.Michelle Stirling is a Calgary-based journalist with extensive international experience.

STIRLING: “Nothing controversial” in “Grave Error” - indigenous psychologist

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