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On the fifth anniversary of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation's claim that 215 children were discovered in unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, dozens gathered on the grounds of British Columbia's legislature for an event titled "The Truth."

Hosted by professor and Aboriginal policy researcher Dr. Frances Widdowson, the gathering featured speakers such as lawyer Jim Heller and OneBC MLA Dallas Brodie, who discussed the lack of substantive evidence since the band's 2021 announcement. The good news is that to date, not a single body has actually been discovered.

BREAKING KAMLOOPS 215 NEWS:

Protester hijacks the start of Dr. Frances Widdowson’s planned discussion at the the legislature.

Widdowson and guests have gathered for speeches on the 5th yr anniversary of the false unmarked grave claims at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.… pic.twitter.com/vNtATXg2Xr

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) May 27, 2026

Speakers also focused on how the media propped up the false claim, and challenged growing efforts to label asking questions as so-called "residential school denialism."

Rebel News reported years ago on evidence suggesting the radar anomalies may have included a former septic field at the site. Yet, the claim had an enormous impact on Canada, including sparking church burnings and vandalism across the country and producing political declarations that the residential school system constituted genocide.

A protester identifying herself as Jessica hijacked the start of the event with her own microphone and speaker system. Reading from a prepared statement, she accused Widdowson and Brodie of racism and promoting residential school denialism.

Widdowson handled the interruption with grace, making it clear the woman was welcome to speak before calmly challenging several of her claims with facts and logic.

After the scheduled speakers finished, Widdowson continued encouraging debate by inviting anyone who disagreed with the presentations to take the microphone and share their perspective.

One woman, who told Rebel News she had historically voted Liberal but is now considering voting Conservative because of what she described as a loss of common sense in politics, thanked organizers for creating a respectful environment for discussion. However, she criticized a sign near the stage reading "Residential Schools Saved Lives," arguing that while some positive outcomes may have occurred, many children also suffered.

Widdowson clarified that she was not responsible for the sign and would not have chosen it herself.

Another attendee argued the event was created because the attendees do not want to confront their feelings of “white guilt” over the harms caused by residential schools. He was allowed to speak uninterrupted but chose not to stay and hear responses from other attendees.

The first speaker at "The Fifth Anniversary of the Kamloops 215 Claim" event @BCLegislature event was @TimThielmann, the Director of the film "Making a Killing" (linked below). pic.twitter.com/MSdhW2wNs9

— Frances Widdowson (@FrancesWiddows1) May 29, 2026

Unlike previous events where Widdowson's calls for transparency and debate have attracted hostile crowds defending the false unmarked graves claim, as well as arrests, this gathering remained peaceful throughout.

Because of the hostility surrounding this topic in the past, Rebel News hired security to help ensure my safety while covering the event. If you would like to help offset the costs to keep our journalists safe, please consider donating at JournalistDefenceFund.com.