Daily Archive

The latest claim of “unmarked graves” at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia exposes a familiar pattern: sweeping headlines, scant evidence. On August 14, 2025, the Williams Lake First Nation announced ground-penetrating radar (GPR) detected 16 “anomalies.” Global News and others framed them as “potential burial sites.” Yet no remains have been confirmed, substituting implication for proof.

Canadians know this script. In 2021, Kamloops’ claim of 215 “graves” became Canada’s “news story of the year,” sparking global outrage and $12 million in federal funding. Four years on, no bodies surfaced—GPR anomalies aligned with tree roots or septic tiles. Still, the unverified narrative lingers as proof of mass graves.

Geophysicists note GPR cannot distinguish human remains from soil disruptions—a fact buried in coverage. Yet sensational claims yield dividends: $8 million in reconciliation grants since 2021, media clout, and moral authority, all absent hard evidence. The Williams Lake announcement follows suit, with no excavation planned, only “consultation.”

None of this negates the residential school era’s tragedies—deaths from disease or neglect were documented. But inflating anomalies into “graves” distorts history, manipulates grief, and diverts resources from urgent Indigenous needs. Worse, a proposed federal bill to criminalize “denialism” would shield such claims from scrutiny, turning skepticism into heresy.

Truth demands excavation, not headlines. Until anomalies are verified, Canadians are asked to mistake speculation for fact. That is not reconciliation—it is a grave error, fracturing trust in a nation desperate for unity.

Sources Referenced

• Global News, “Williams Lake First Nation Finds 16 Potential Burial Sites,” August 14, 2025
• Fraser Institute, “No Evidence of ‘Mass Graves’ in Residential Schools,” February 12, 2024
• National Post, “Kamloops Graves Remain Unproven,” April 6, 2025
• Struggles-Activist.com, “Three Years Later, Canadian ‘Mass Graves’ Claims Remain Unproven,” January 7, 2025
• Aggregated X posts, August 2025