Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc chief calls for B.C. MLA Dallas Brodie to resign

A First Nations leader in B.C. says she’s calling for MLA Dallas Brodie to resign due to her anti-Indigenous and residential school denialism rhetoric inside and outside the legislature.

Rosanne Casimir, kúkpi7 (chief) of Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, said in a statement Wednesday that Brodie's behaviour undercuts the standards of respect and integrity required of someone in public office.

"She's determined to undermine public trust, reconciliation and what she's saying threatens the safety of Indigenous peoples,” Casimir told CBC Radio's Daybreak Kamloops Thursday.

“It is a call for accountability."

Residential school denialism downplays, excuses or misrepresents facts about the harms caused by residential schools.

Casimir said survivor testimony, residential school records, and ground penetrating radar have all been used to determine potential unmarked graves near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. In 2021, approximately 200 potential burial sites were identified using ground-penetrating radar.

Brodie has been outspoken on social media claiming that there are zero unmarked graves of students at the site.

“Truth isn't selective," said Casimir.

"Survivors' voices, the historical records and then the ongoing investigations are all part of that truth, and denialism ignores evidence. We welcome good faith questions but not rhetoric that erases history.”

When it comes to the investigation of unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential school, Casimir said the work is ongoing.

“Much work has been done,” said Casimir.

“That information will be shared when it's closer to its completion.”

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has documented more than 4,100 children who died at residential schools across the country. 

In the legislature Monday, Brodie called a 10-year long Aboriginal rights and title lawsuit by Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc a “land grab that threatens the private homes of 100,000 private residences.”