Frances Widdowson: Kamloops, unmarked graves and academic freedom

Frances Widdowson is a Canadian political scientist. She was an associate professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary until her dismissal in 2021. For several years she has examined the evidence behind the May 2021 announcement concerning the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. She joins Dane Giraud to set out what she has found.In May 2021 it was announced that the remains of 215 children had been confirmed at the site. Widdowson gives her account of what followed. She describes a ground-penetrating radar survey of an apple orchard, and a July 2021 presentation in which the figure was put at 200 targets of interest rather than confirmed remains. She explains what ground radar can detect and what it cannot, and why she argues that only excavation can settle the question. She also covers the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission volume on missing children and burials, and the difference between an unmarked grave and a clandestine one.The wider argument is about open inquiry. Widdowson says the subject has become very difficult to research in Canada, and that questioning the claim invites the label of residential school denier. Mount Royal University dismissed her in 2021. She links that dismissal to her positions on this and other contested issues, and the matter remains before the Alberta Labour Relations Board.Her claims in this episode are her own. We publish them because the question of who is permitted to ask them is a free speech question. An argument that cannot be tested in public is not an argument at all.Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/joinSupport our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donateNewsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribeWebsite: https://www.fsu.nzGot feedback or a guest suggestion? [email protected] by Free Speech Union, PO Box 10423, The Terrace, Wellington 6143Support the showhttps://www.fsu.nz/https://x.com/NZFreeSpeechhttps://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz