In 2022, news media across the globe reported that hundreds of mass graves containing the remains of Indigenous children had been discovered at a former residential school site in Canada. This turned out not to be true. Nothing had been discovered at all. Yet the narrative of not only the “mass graves,” but systemic abuse and even “genocide” perpetrated at these residential schools, lives on.
Canada’s relationship to Indigenous peoples and history is a strong one—tied to funding, legislation, education, land acknowledgements, policy, and of course guilt. But is it accurate? Is what Canadians “know” about Indigenous history true? How is what we believe impacting the country and its citizens?
In this episode, I speak with Tim Thielmann, former Indigenous rights lawyer and director of a new documentary called, “Making a Killing: Reconciliation, Genocide, and Plunder in Canada.”
