Subhead:In 2022, Rebel News released an investigative documentary, Kamloops: The Buried Truth, debunking the unmarked grave claim.#

What happened to truth and reconciliation? I've been asking that question for nearly four years now — ever since the world was told the implausible claim that the remains of 215 children had been discovered in unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, solely by way of ground-penetrating radar.

This radar, while a useful surveying tool that can detect underground anomalies, requires excavation to determine whether what's been discovered is tree roots, human remains, or a forgotten septic plot, such as the one installed in the same area that the Kamloops Band reported as an unmarked gravesite.

But if you point out any of that, especially that, in reality, zero bodies have been found, but that millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent due to the band's claims, you'll likely wind up being called a racist "Residential School denier," in the same way several professionals — including teachers, lawyers, elected officials, and the few journalists who dare to shed light on the issue — are.

Even worse, you may have calls for your speech to be criminalized, as is the stance of the First Nations Leadership Council, lobbyists in British Columbia, who have singled out the speech of Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie, using it as a pretext to call for "legal protections" against what they call "Residential School denialism," after Brodie factually challenged the profitable yet false "215 graves" claim still being taught as truth to lawyers via the Law Society of B.C.'s mandatory training.

Even the province's NDP-appointed Attorney General, Niki Sharma, is offended by the facts. In response to Brodie calling out in the legislature how dangerous it is to criminalize discussion of the truth, Sharma shamed the MLA's call to defund the FNLC for its radically un-Canadian suggestion, saying she knows that "a lot of us in this house support me in condemning that question and standing by survivors."

I guess that makes this exclusive interview with a Kamloops Indian "Residential School survivor" dedicated to Niki Sharma and other fact-denialists of today. Except this Kamloops Band member whistleblower wouldn’t label himself "a Residential School survivor." Instead, he claims he was "treated well" during his time at the school, and that from his perspective, most of the students there seemed happy to be at the school because it was a better option than being at home.

"They were away from abusive families, dysfunctional families, alcoholism," said the member. "They were happy to be there."

The band member, whose identity we've confirmed but will be protecting due to his concerns that there would be repercussions if he shared his counter-narrative experience, also discussed his first thoughts when he heard the 215 unmarked grave claim. "I think they made a mistake and they know it," he said, before sharing some of his own first-hand experience working on the land in the same area where the so-called discovery occurred.

According to the member, new development on the land back in the 1990s would have required developers to study the land to ensure that the soil underneath the surface was clear. After developers were allowed to proceed with new infrastructure on the land, including the since-reconstructed red cedar arbor for powwows, he personally witnessed loads of dirt being dumped to help level the land. In that soil, which the member suspects was brought in from a landfill, he and many other workers saw pieces of porcelain cups, dishes, forks, and other items mixed throughout it.

"All the anomalies were probably from that soil that was brought in," he added.

The member also shared his opinions about the rise in "Residential School denialist" allegations against those who question the unmarked grave stories, as well as the church-burning spree that escalated after his band made the claim.

"I think it's just the state of the country, just political correctness," he said. "When I was growing up, church meant community and family. It seems like the Liberals, they want to destroy the family, so the way to do that is to attack the religion."

"So, suddenly, the Native cause is to attack religion."

In 2022, Rebel News released an investigative documentary, Kamloops: The Buried Truth, debunking the false 215 unmarked grave claim that countless other media outlets have kept alive. Our journalists have also had our boots on the ground to cover many of the hundreds of attacks against Christian communities' places of worship since the claim was made.

Approximately 100 band governments have received government funds to investigate their unmarked grave "discoveries" using GPR. Of the several that have excavated, not a single body has been found.