A tribal leader has sparked controversy by suggesting sexual violence against a professor who questioned the prevailing narrative surrounding the discovery of mass graves of Indigenous children at Canadian residential schools.
Chief Charlene Belleau, representing the Esk’etemc First Nation, made this alarming statement about Frances Widdowson, a former professor at Mount Royal University, during a discussion on April 14.
The exchange occurred while Belleau was conversing with Derek K Thompson from the University of British Columbia about preserving Indigenous history. Her anger surfaced when the conversation veered towards certain academics, Widdowson included, who have expressed skepticism regarding the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school in British Columbia.
Reflecting on her past encounter with Widdowson, Belleau recounted her frustration, accusing the professor of causing harm by questioning the validity of the claims about the Kamloops school site.
“I was really angry with her,” Belleau admitted to Thompson during their discussion.
‘I was really angry with her,’ she said to Thompson on Tuesday.
‘I told her: “I wish that our people could grab you, drag you over to the Kamloops Residential School, put you into a basement, speak our language to you, nothing but Secwepemc, beat you, rape you, hurt you, and maybe you would understand what our people went through,’” Belleau said.
The tribal leader continued her story with no pushback from debate moderator Thompson or UBC.
Chief Charlene Belleau, a member of the Esk’etemc First Nation, appeared to wish rape on Professor Frances Widdowson, questioned the narrative around the discovery of mass graves of Indigenous children at Canadian government schools
Widdowson is among a group of academics who are calling for the claims of unmarked graves to be reexamined
Belleau’s remarks were seized on by Dallas Brodie, the leader of the right-wing OneBC party in Canada.
Brodie called Belleau a ‘vile person’ and criticized UBC and Thompson for giving her ‘ZERO pushback’ when she mentioned wanting revenge on Widdowson through assault.
‘This is the insane revenge fantasies of a professional bully, not someone who cares about truth and justice,’ Brodie wrote on X.
She called for the attorney general to press charges against Belleau and for the tribal leader to apologize to Widdowson.
UBC spokesperson, Mieke Koehoorn, told the Daily Mail in a statement the school ‘does not condone any speech that endorses or promotes harassment or violence of any kind.’
‘An invitation for a community member to participate in an event does not constitute endorsement of their specific remarks or views,’ Koehoorn said.
The Daily Mail has contacted Belleau and Widdowson for comment.
The Kamloops Indian Residential School operated from 1890 to 1978, where children from 108 communities and 38 Indigenous Nations were forcibly sent.
‘They endured mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and sexual abuse, forced labor, malnutrition, and high rates of disease,’ the Canadian government said.
‘Many died and never returned to their families.’
The two have clashed before at protest at Thompson Rivers University
Belleau’s remarks were called out by OneBC leader Dallas Brodie who called for her to apologize
The school was run by the Catholic Church and the residential schools were ‘designed to destroy Indigenous cultures,’ the government said.
The Kamloops site was designated an historic site in 2024 and the history of the grounds is often referred to as a genocide.
In 2021, the children’s remains were found on the grounds using ground-penetrating radar.
However, some, including Widdowson, have cast doubts on the bodies as the government has not exhumed the remains.
The academic has called for claims to be properly scrutinized and supported.
‘Claims should be asserted on the basis of reason, evidence and logic, not the basis of a prescribed doctrine,’ she told The National Post.
‘If we don’t have the truth, we will not be able to figure out the best way to organize society.
‘That’s what’s happened to Aboriginal people now, is that they’re being fed a whole bunch of falsehoods which are making it impossible for Aboriginal people to thrive and live full lives in modern society.’
The Kamloops Indian Residential School operated from 1890 to 1978. In 2021, children’s bones were found on the ground using ground-penetrating radar
Widdowson was terminated from her position at Mount Royal University in December 2021 over harassment allegations.
An arbitrator later found her dismissal to be unwarranted in 2024.
She has previously clashed with Belleau over alleged discrepancies in her account of her relative’s suicide after attending St Joseph’s Mission residential school.
Belleau said her relative was the only child to follow through on a suicide pact he made with classmates when he was just nine years old due to alleged abuse at the school.
His remains were never found, and Belleau has made searching for them a central part of her activism.
However, Widdowson cast doubt on her story due to the fact Belleau referred to the relative concerned as both an uncle and a grandfather.
