Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) issued a letter of support for Quesnel area First Nations on April 5, in response to a recent residential school denialism controversy.
The letter was addressed to the city of Quesnel and invites the council to meet with the St. Joseph’s Mission Investigation team to learn the realities of what has been uncovered. Many children from the communities of Lhtako Dene, Nazko Dene, Lhoosk’uz Dene, and ?Esdilagh were forced to attend St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School. The city of Quesnel and Cariboo Regional District reside on the traditional territory of these communities.
At a city of Quesnel public council meeting on Tuesday, April 2, the city council was forced to address the controversy surrounding Quesnel Mayor Ron Paull and his wife. The two are alleged to have been sharing and distributing a book downplaying or denying the impacts of residential schools on Indigenous people.
A crowd of protestors had rallied before the meeting, then filled the council chambers.
“It’s not something that you expect to see in today’s day and age,” said WLFN Kukpi7 (Chief) Willie Sellars, however, he noted it isn’t surprising, given the history of the Cariboo Chilcotin and comments made in the past by Williams Lake’s previous mayor.
“A big part of reconciliation is education and we need to make sure as Indigenous people that we are being a part of that education process,” he said, noting there is still a lot of work to do.
“We are here to assist in any way that we can,” said Sellars, noting the process of educating the Quesnel city council will be under the guidance and direction of the Dakelh (Carrier) leaders.
Sellars said he hopes the mayor and city council of Quesnel reach out to the First Nations leadership in these communities to have those conversations and educate themselves.
He said every time these stories take over the headlines, it can be triggering for survivors and their families, and it does real damage to relationships being built between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. He said it can bring up a lot of anger and frustration, but he tries to remember not everyone is spreading these harmful messages.
“That minority that speaks up on these things doesn’t represent the entirety of the non-Indigenous people that occupy our traditional territories,” he said, noting the safety and wellness of the survivors has to be the biggest priority for Indigenous leaders.
Sellars said while the majority of responses he gets are positive and show support when these issues come up, about 10 per cent are direct messages and emails consisting of angry attacks and even hate mail.
“It is unfortunate, but we will continue to pray for those individuals,” he said.
Those downplaying the impacts of residential schools do not believe the evidence so far provided through the ground-penetrating radar showing possible unmarked graves, but Sellars said the naysayers will not determine the process or speed of the investigation or when excavation begins.
“It will be on the timeline and under the guidance of the nations that were represented in those schools,” he said.
WLFN is leading the investigation into the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, which saw thousands of Indigenous students during approximately 100 years of operations. So far, ground penetrating radar studies of some of the grounds surrounding the mission have revealed a possible 159 unmarked graves.
Anyone triggered by this story should reach out to seek support. People can call the Indian Residential School Survivors Society: 1-866-925-4419 or the Hope for Wellness helpline: 1-855-242-3310.
READ MORE: Chiefs call for Quesnel mayor Ron Paull’s resignation
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