Canada's newest 'unmarked grave' claim: no proof, just anomalies, so why state otherwise?
Shíshálh Nation claims to have found 41 more unmarked graves near the former St. Augustine’s Residential School in B.C.
Four years after the initial “unmarked grave” discoveries in Canada, no bodies have been found.
Bands like Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc in Kamloops have quietly walked back claims of discovering “215 Indigenous children’s remains” via ground-penetrating radar (GPR), now calling them “potential” unmarked graves, “anomalies,” or “targets of interest.”
FULL DOCUMENTARY | Kamloops: The Buried Truth
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 2, 2023
Rebel News reporter Drea Humphrey and Matt Brevner take you on an investigative journey to uncover the truth about a story that misled a nation, the truth about what is actually known about what lies beneath the soil at the former… pic.twitter.com/gdtyBo7FT4
Rebel News investigations revealed the "Kamloops claim" likely points to an old septic plot, a fact the government should have known prior to public outcry.
When bands like Manitoba's Pine Creek Nation excavated, hoping to find graves, they found only animal bones and debris, disproving the belief that human remains were present.
This precedent raises a difficult question: why is the Shíshálh Nation repeating the unmarked grave discovery narrative in 2025?
Chief Lenora Joe announced 41 additional unmarked graves, totaling 81, near the former St. Augustine’s Residential School. The previous 40 anomalies, which the band describes as unmarked graves, were originally discovered in 2023, yet no excavation took place.
UNMARKED GRAVE:
— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) August 19, 2025
⁰“Day of loss” “carrying these truths” “findings of 81 unmarked graves.”
Sechelt band Chief Lenora Joe makes strong claims based on weak evidence.
To date: Zero bodies have been confirmed at the former St. Augustine’s Residential School. https://t.co/RpznYVqS8w pic.twitter.com/LkkKFRmUq0
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's National Student Memorial Register recorded five student deaths and no missing children at the Sechelt (St. Augustine's) school.
Whose "81 unmarked graves" are these, and if the Nation "always knew" about the buried children, why the delay in breaking ground?
Though the Nation declined interviews, Rebel News tracked federal Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund dollars, which are disbursed for tasks like grave surveying, to find answers.
Cabinet allocated $238.8 million in 2022 to find, document, and commemorate unmarked burial sites. The fund, extended to March 31, 2026, has paid out $246.7 million.
Requests from First Nations now total $704.3 million, according to Blacklock’s.
Drea Humphrey
B.C. Bureau Chief
Based in British Columbia, Drea Humphrey reports on Western Canada for Rebel News. Drea’s reporting is not afraid to challenge political correctness, or ask the tough questions that mainstream media tends to avoid.
COMMENTS
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Rudy Kraus commented 2025-08-31 11:45:36 -0400I have a “Ground Penetrating Excavator” which I have used in BC from the US border to the Yukon. I have never encountered an soil that did not have anomalies. There may be some, but never saw it. -
Wayne Currie commented 2025-08-29 23:46:02 -0400The bands’ doubling down on these claims is aimed at the federal gov’t: “Give us more money”. Prepare for more similar claims from other provinces. BTW, the BC Conservative Party is a cowardly & unprincipled bunch of losers.
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Fran g commented 2025-08-28 16:49:59 -0400Cry wolf. I do not believe these new claims. It definately is about money. They should be given NO money unless they have proof. Why has no one dug up these 2 last claims. Some in the past did dig and found nothing. They are not digging cause they know very well there is nothing there. Also it is a slippery slope towards mass UNDRIP
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Crude Sausage commented 2025-08-26 21:52:18 -0400They have yet to prove that there were actual graves in the previous sites, so they’re doubling down and claiming that there are more. Only clowns would believe a word these liars say, especially since no kids were unaccounted for.
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-08-26 21:10:23 -0400The Indigenous Industrial Complex strikes again. They sure milking us non native Canadians for as much as they can get.
