Words are containers of power and can shape thinking and behaviour. Words have the power to excite, inspire, elate, sadden, frighten, anger or give hope. No better example of that than the verbiage that has surrounded the alleged discovery of unmarked graves of 215 children near a residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
On May 27, 2021, the Chief of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in Kamloops announced that ground-penetrating radar uncovered the remains of 215 children who were students of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. As far as facts, it should be understood that the technique, ground-penetrating radar, does not detect human “remains”, just grave shafts. It should also be understood that there is no evidence that all those unmarked graves are solely those of children who were students of the Kamloops residential school, and, as well, it should be understood that the technique provides no information as to the cause of death of anyone who had been buried in those graves.
In the aftermath of the reported finding of unmarked graves near the former residential school in Kamloops, several mainstream media sources around the world erroneously reported this finding as a “mass grave” (for example, as reported by the Toronto Star). Such wording evokes the image of a “genocide”, another word that has been recklessly used by the mainstream media.
As pointed out in another blog post at Dog With A Bone, “Speculation Not Okay, But Lies Okay?”, the Cochrane Eagle here in Cochrane chose to use the same ‘mass grave’ verbiage.
The June 10 issue of the Cochrane Eagle had extensive coverage of the supposed finding of the unmarked graves believed to be that of 215 children at the Kamloops Residential School. On June 12, I sent an email to the Editor of the Cochrane Eagle, Chelsea Kemp, advising her of my concern that there were at least three instances, including in her Editorial, “Reckoning With Residentials Schools”, where the graves were referred to as “mass graves”, thus eliciting a greater emotional response from the reader, suggestive of a holocaust. Citing a report, “The Full Facts Are Needed on the Kamloops Discovery”, by Candice Malcolm with True North, I pointed out that Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Kamloops First Nation confirmed that “This is not a mass grave. These are preliminary findings.”
In a two-page spread, “Cochrane memorial launched to honour children found at Kamloops Residential School”, in the Cochrane Eagle by Kemp about the memorial created in Cochrane’s Historic Downtown about the Kelowna finding, she mentioned Gloria Snow, identified as the Town of Cochrane Equity and Inclusion Committee’s Indigenous Adviser, as being “on hand for the ceremony marking the observance of the 215 students found in the mass grave in Kamloops”. In the article, Snow makes the unsubstantiated conclusion that “it’s actual proof that these atrocities were committed”, a highly speculative statement, but such inflammatory speculation having no basis in fact was permitted by Kemp in her article.
I suggested to Ms. Kemp, that before jumping to conclusions, it would be wise to follow Candice Malcolm’s advice that, “we should wait for the official report to be released.”
I ended my June 12 email by asking Ms. Kemp, “Will you issue a correction in the upcoming issue of the Cochrane Eagle?” I received no reply from Ms. Kemp, nor was there any correction in the subsequent issue, that is, the lies were allowed to stand and there was no updating of the various reports referencing “mass graves”.
Separately, I had noted that a May 31st News Flash, “Town of Cochrane mourns residential school children”, posted at the Town of Cochrane’s web site, stated:
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“The Town of Cochrane has lowered flags to half-mast in recognition of the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school.
‘Lowering our flags is a symbol of mourning the loss of so many lives, while honoring the survivors and their families’, said Mayor Jeff Genung. ‘However, we know that symbol is only one small step. We need to take action and educate ourselves on the untold history of our country, and the story of the Indigenous peoples of this area and throughout Canada.’
Community members who are deeply impacted by this news can receive emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour National Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.
For others who would like to learn more about Indigenous peoples in this region, and to explore resources such as recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, visit https://nctr.ca.
Cochrane flags will remain at half-mast for 215 hours.”
On June 12, I sent a note to Mayor Genung, pointing out that the reference to their “lives were taken” in the Town’s News Flash suggests that they were murdered, painting this residential school as if it were some kind of a death camp. I asked him to share my thoughts with the department or whoever was responsible for preparing this communication. I also suggested that the Town follow the sage advice of True North’s Candice Malcom, namely, “before politicians jump to enacting policy conclusions, we should wait for the official report to be released.” I would agree with Mayor Genung that we should “educate ourselves”, especially when it comes to knowing the facts surrounding the finding of unmarked graves near the former Kamloops residential school before making unfounded pronouncements.
Not receiving a response from Mayor Genung, I sent him another note on June 20, reminding him of my previous note to him, and indicating, “I would appreciate some communication back explaining that choice of words and why they were considered appropriate”.
Still not receiving a reply by June 24, I sent an email (copied to Mayor Genung) to Mr. Drew Hyndman, General Manager, Development & Community Services, asking, “Perhaps you can help me with receiving some communication back from the Town explaining its choice of words and whether they are considered appropriate under the circumstances.”
On June 28, I received an email from Mayor Genung, who explained,
“Thank you for your feedback. We are thoughtful with our language choices with every release of information. I realize this is particularly sensitive and the language could be interpreted in a variety of different ways. I have passed along your feedback to the Communications department.
I replied as follows to Mayor Genung (copied to Mr. Hyndman):
“As you are aware, having sent several communications to you on the matter of the Town’s May 31st Newsflash and have not received a reply, I forwarded this request on to Mr. Hyndman:
‘Perhaps you can help me with receiving some communication back from the Town explaining its choice of words and whether they are considered appropriate under the circumstances.’
You mention that the Town’s Communications Department is ‘thoughtful’ with its choice of language, and I would add should be careful not to inflame a particularly sensitive situation, the way the Cochrane Eagle inappropriately referred to “mass graves” when even the chief involved with the investigation said that they were not mass graves.
Again, I would very much appreciate receiving some communication back from the Town’s Communications Department explaining its choice of words and whether they are considered appropriate under the circumstances.”
That same day (June 28), I received a brief email (copied to Mr. Hyndman and Town CAO, Mr. Derricott) from Ms. Kristin Huybrecht (who I assume is part of the Town’s Communications Department):
“Thank you for your request regarding the post made to the Town’s website and Facebook page on May 31.
Recognizing the sensitivity of the statement being made in this post, the Communications team consulted with the Town’s Equity & Inclusion Advisor to ensure that our choice of language was appropriate.”
Not satisfied with that response, I replied on June 28, as follows to Ms. Huybrecht (with copy to Mayor Genung, Mr. Hyndman and Mr. Derricott):
“I understand that by virtue of having consulted with the Equity and Inclusion Committee’s Advisor, who presumably endorsed it, that that thereby, in your view, ‘ensures’ that the chosen language, that their “lives were taken”, which implies some kind of foul play, is appropriate. And I take it that the Town is communicating that that is how it sees it and is satisfied with such based upon the adviser’s opinion as a reliable authority. So much for Mayor Genung having told me that you are very thoughtful in choosing your language, especially for a sensitive matter.
According to a two-page spread, “Cochrane memorial launched to honour children found at Kamloops Residential School understand”, penned by Chelsea Kemp in the June 11th issue of the Cochrane Eagle, the Equity and Inclusion Committee’s indigenous adviser is identified as Gloria Snow.
Ms. Snow was identified as being “on hand for the ceremony marking the observance of the 215 students found in the mass grave in Kamloops”. Snow makes the unsubstantiated conclusion that “it’s actual proof that these atrocities were committed”, a highly speculative statement, but such inflammatory speculation having no basis in fact was permitted by Kemp in her article. As well, here and at the very start of the article there is mention of a “mass grave”, suggestive of some kind of holocaust, which even Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Kamloops First Nation confirmed that “this is not a mass grave. These are preliminary findings.” I brought this inappropriate reference to a “mass grave” to the attention of Chelsea Kemp and asked her to provide a correction in the next issue of the Cochrane Eagle, but she allowed this inflammatory lie to stand.
This is a sensitive issue and embellishing it with unsubstantiated hyperbole, which may in fact be intended to raise the emotional response, is not helpful. Ms. Snow with her intemperate comments does not come across as a credible person to “ensure” that the Town’s use of the phrase that their “lives were taken” is appropriate. In fact, such language is highly inappropriate and only serves to emotionally inflame matters, which may well be its intended purpose.
Mayor Genung, as my elected representative, I am asking you to instruct the Town’s Communications Department, guided by the Equity and Inclusion Committee, to remove such unjustified inflammatory language from its post.”
Remember that the original post at the Town’s website was entitled, “Town of Cochrane Mourns Residential School Children”. It is often confusing to me what is meant by the ‘Town of Cochrane’. In this case, the post should probably have been entitled, ‘The Town of Cochrane’s Woke Equity & Inclusion Committee Mourns Residential School Children’, given that the Equity & Inclusion Committee (composed of Town Administration staff who volunteer to be part of the committee) appears to have been primarily responsible for crafting the message.
On July 5, I received a note from Mr. Hyndman, who having returned from a brief vacation, followed up asking if had received a response on this matter yet. I replied:
“Thank you for following up.
I received an unsatisfactory response from Ms. Huybrechet on June 28th and explained why in my reply to her on June 28th, which was copied to you, Mr. Derricott and Mayor Genung.
Although Mayor Genung suggested that the Town’s Communications Department takes great care with its choice of words, that was not the case in the Town’s News Post about the finding of unmarked graves at a residential school. There is no basis for the use of the phrase that their “lives were taken” other than to inflame emotions. Truth and Reconciliation becomes Lies and Dissension. There is enough of such language from the mainstream media. Witness the recent burning of churches and vandalism resulting from intemperate language in the media including our own media here in Cochrane that these were ‘mass graves’ and ‘atrocities’.
I have asked Mayor Genung to instruct the Town’s Communications Department to tone down that news post.”
I received no further communication from the Mayor or the Town’s Communication Department on this matter. However, wanting to share the link for the May 31st News Flash, “Town of Cochrane Mourns Residential School Children”, posted at the Town’s web site, with somebody, I discovered when going to the Town’s web site, that that News Flash was no longer there, that it had been deleted. Because of my enquiries and concerns raised about this News Flash, I would have expected some advisement of such action and why, instead of it quietly being removed.
On July 7, I contacted Mr. Hyndman (with copy to Mayor Genung) asking for his assistance in determining “what happened?” to the News Flash.
While I had specifically enquired as to the removal of the post at the Town’s website, at the end of day on July 8, Mr. Hyndman came back and reported, along with a screen shot, “I did go to the Town’s Facebook page and the posting was there.”
In my reply to Mr. Hyndman that same day, I made it clear to him that I was not imagining things and hoped that he was not suggesting that the post was never there at the Town’s web site. I. believe the term for that is gaslighting. I once more asked, “Again, why was it removed from the Town’s web site, which is what I specifically referred to? That should be relatively easy to determine from whoever manages the communications.”
On July 12, I received the following explanation from Mr. Hyndman, “To clarify, this matter was not removed from the Town’s website, but rather some News Flash items are time sensitive, and this particular posting was set to expire on July 1, 2021, so it is no longer posted on the Town’s website.” How convenient. I had raised concerns about the language used in the News Post, as per my reply to Ms. Huybrecht on June 28, and a few days later it was set to expire from the Town’s web site, a month later from its posting on May 31 because of its time sensitivity.
In my reply to Mr. Hyndman and copied to Mayor Genung, I thanked Mr. Hyndman for alerting me to the fact that the same announcement was also posted at the Town’s Facebook page and noted that it is still up at the Facebook page. Given that such language, whether at the Town’s web site or at its Facebook page, is equally unacceptable., I once more asked Mayor Genung, as my elected representative, “to instruct the Town’s Communications Department, guided by the Equity and Inclusion Committee, to remove such unjustified inflammatory language from its post”.
While there is a desire for Truth and Reconciliation, such intemperate, inflammatory language becomes, instead, a situation of Lies and Dissension that foments discord, pitting us against one another, which so happens to be the objective of Marxist critical race theory.
In light of such hysteria and intemperate language from what I would call ‘Verbal Arsons’ turning up the emotional heat, it comes as no surprise that dozens of Christian churches in Canada have been either burned down by arsonists or vandalized in recent weeks. As well, on Canada Day, a statue of Queen Victoria on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature was toppled by a mob of orange-shirt-clad perpetrators during a protest called the “Every Child Matters Walk”, likely emboldened due to the media’s misleading narrative on residential schools.
Candice Malcom with True North provides an example of a fair-minded, responsible, honest journalist’s account, “Six things the media got wrong about the graves found near Residential Schools”, of this story.
In her article, Malcolm notes that, “The use of the term mass graves is wrong, and it is reckless. It conflates Canada’s policy of forced assimilation through mandatory universal education, with Nazi death camps”. In that light, she considered it, “good to see that the Washington Post made a correction on their story. Others should follow”. With respect to “others should follow”, shame on Chelsea Kemp and the Cochrane Eagle for not having done the same.
ADDENDUM
Having received a reply from Mayor Genung, closed the chapter of my engagement with the Town and Mayor Genung related to my concern about the reference to “lives were taken” in the Town’s communication related to the reported finding of 215 graves of children at an unmarked grave site near the former Kamloops residential school.
With 10 days having lapsed and my not having received a reply from Mayor Genung to my July 12 email, requesting that he “instruct the Town’s Communications Department…to remove such unjustified inflammatory language from its post”, on July 22, I sent the following email to the Mayor:
“Again, I would appreciate knowing what actions will you be taking on this matter or are you satisfied with the language that was used by the Town’s communications department to describe the situation in Kelowna, namely that ‘lives were taken’?”
The next day, July 23, I received a reply from Mayor Genung:
“As I understand, our Communications Manager, Kristin, has been in contact with you to explain how we came up with the language used in this Article. I recognise that this is a sensitive issue, and I am satisfied with the means in which our Team used to develop this article. While you may not agree, I appreciate your opinion and that you have articulated your concerns.”
I, in turn, replied:
Thank you for clarifying that you are satisfied with the language used, namely, that their “lives were taken” describes the situation with respect to the unmarked graves determined by ground-penetrating radar near the former Kamloops residential school.
Presumably such language, suggestive of foul play leading to the deaths of those buried at the grave site, is necessary to justify the Town’s decision to lower the Town of Cochrane’s flags at half-mast, in your view, expressed in that communication, as “a symbol of mourning the loss of so many lives”.
I note that the flags were flown at half-mast for 215 hours based on the “preliminary“ reported findings that there were 215 graves detected. However, the latest report from those conducting the “Preliminary Survey” is that they have revised that number down to 200. According to that report, based upon disturbances detected in the ground using ground-penetrating radar, “200 anomalies remain as targets of interest. These targets of interest are ‘probable burials’.” That being so, means that the extra 15 hours of the flags being flown at half-mast essentially mourned for no one.
You also pointed out in that communication that, “We need to educate ourselves”, which I would agree with wholeheartedly when it comes to knowing the facts surrounding the finding of unmarked graves near the former Kamloops residential school, before making unfounded pronouncements.
As you know, subsequently there were unmarked graves reported near other residential schools in B.C. and elsewhere. So, one wonders why you stopped with Kamloops as far as lowering the Town’s flags at half-mast.
In any event, thanks for making it clear that you found the use of such language acceptable to characterize the report with respect to the findings at the unmarked grave site near the former Kamloops residential school.