First Nations leaders call on universities to ban residential school denialist demonstrations
CBC
A First Nations PhD student at the University of British Columbia (UBC) says a demonstration last week created an unsafe space on campus for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis staff and students.
"UBC should have done a better job at protecting us," said Tarene Thomas, who belongs to the Enoch Cree Nation, and is Tahltan, Gitxsan and Haisla.
"And they failed to do that."
OneBC, a provincial political party criticized by scholars and First Nations leaders for pushing residential school denialist and anti-Indigenous rhetoric, held a demonstration Jan. 22 in the square outside the Vancouver-based university's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.
It was the fourth university demonstration the party has held in the province over the past few months.
Thomas said she avoided campus the day of the demonstration in order to protect her peace, which caused her to miss school and work.
"I felt bad about not going but told myself, I was like, I don't want to leave campus crying. You know?" said Thomas.
"It still heavily impacted me. I still had a really awful day."
OneBC supporters were met by hundreds of opponents like Angie Calhoun, a residential school survivor supporter from Haisla Nation, Gitxan Nation and Duck Bay.
"I think it's important that the residential school deniers are reminded that we are still here, and we will not be silenced," said Calhoun.
In a statement, UBC said it is fundamentally committed to upholding free inquiry, the free exchange of ideas and opinion, academic freedom, diversity of perspective, and reasoned debate. It added hate and intolerance have no place at the university, and any of these actions must always be taken with respect for others and within the boundaries of university policy and the law.
It also said the school held a lunch and learn on residential school denialism on Jan. 19.
In a Jan. 22 community update, UBC said when it became clear there were potential safety risks, campus security and RCMP directed the visitors to leave the campus for their own safety.
"As the visitors were not following these instructions, RCMP then facilitated their departure from campus," UBC said.
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