John Hammond and his wife were enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning coffee at home when they heard the “hup! hup!” of a group of men marching.
asserted
they → enjoy → men
The retired couple looked out their window in the small B.C. city of Kamloops and saw roughly two dozen men clad in black clothes and white face and neck coverings while being led by an unmasked man they estimated to be in his 50s toward a nearby cenotaph.
asserted
they → look → cenotaph
The cenotaph commemorates soldiers from Kamloops who died in the two World Wars and other conflicts across the globe.
asserted
who → commemorate → globe
Mr. Hammond said the group posed around the memorial, while two others operated drones flying nearby.
asserted
others → say → drones
The former air-traffic controller, who moved from Ontario to B.C.’s Southern Interior during the pandemic, called the RCMP detachment’s non-emergency line because he thought it was inappropriate that the men were holding such a gathering at the cenotaph.
asserted
men → move → cenotaph
The dispatcher told him they would send a car there and when the couple looked again, the men were gone.
asserted
men → tell → car
Less than an hour later – at 9:17 a.m. – the dispatcher called Mr. Hammond back saying Mounties had fanned out across the city but had not been able to find them.
asserted
Mounties → call → them
Mr. Hammond said later that day, his daughter informed him that based on social-media reports, the men were suspected of being part of the Second Sons white nationalist group.
asserted
men → say → group
The same people appeared to have hung a “got bones?” banner with the club’s three-maple-leaf insignia on a Trans-Canada Highway overpass in Kamloops on Sunday, she said.
asserted
she → appear → Sunday
Local Mounties are investigating the same group for setting foot on the nearby Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation reserve.
asserted
Mounties → investigate → reserve
“It’s not something I want in my neighbourhood, city, province or country,” Mr. Hammond said.
asserted
Hammond → ’ → neighbourhood
Five years ago, the Tk’emlúps announced it had found the remains of 215 children on the site of an old Indian Residential School, a finding that made headlines globally and set off an unprecedented period of national grieving in Canada.
asserted
that → announce → Canada
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau declared Sept. 30 to be a holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
asserted
Sept. → declare → Truth
The Tk’emlúps have backed away from certainty that results of ground penetrating radar scans indicate bodies are buried there and skepticism about the unmarked graves claim has grown and some claim deaths at the school are a hoax.
Kamloops RCMP said Monday they had received a call Sunday at dawn complaining of masked men gathering beside a road on the Tk’emlúps reserve and “engaged the group.”
uncertain
men → back → group
The group left for other parts of the city, the RCMP said in a statement, but did not clarify whether they had any more interactions with them.
asserted
they → leave → them
The RCMP said they were investigating the “cowardly attempt to avoid accountability for actions and messages that are clearly intended to intimidate, provoke fear and division.”
asserted
that → say → fear
Police announced no arrests and did not explain what – if any – charges the masked men may face.
uncertain
men → announce → charges
Sunday’s public demonstrations drew condemnation from the Tk’emlúps, other Indigenous groups and political leaders of all stripes.
asserted
demonstrations → draw → stripes
Kúkwpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir warned that Tk’emlúps wouldn’t be intimidated by white supremacy groups in the community and that leadership was working with the RCMP and taking extra precautions ahead of the events it has planned for Wednesday’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
asserted
it → warn → Truth
“We recognize the fear, anger, and concern this may create for our members, Survivors, families, and staff.
uncertain
this → recognize → members
We hear those concerns, and we are taking action,” she said in a statement.
asserted
she → hear → statement
Ms. Casimir said her Nation would not be intimidated by the group from continuing its work of truth and reconciliation.
asserted
Nation → say → truth
She also called on the provincial and federal governments to fight “racism, white supremacist activity, hate-motivated conduct, and efforts to deny or distort the truth of the Indian Residential School system.”
asserted
She → call → system
“Reconciliation requires more than words.
asserted
Reconciliation → require → words
It requires ongoing action to ensure Indigenous peoples can live safely and free from intimidation,” her statement said.
asserted
statement → require → intimidation
The Assembly of First Nations condemned “the display of racism and hate by white nationalists” in a statement on social media.
asserted
Assembly → condemn → media
While on the provincial election campaign trail Monday, NDP Leader David Eby, interim Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson and Green Party Leader Emily Lowan all called the demonstration “disgusting.”
asserted
Eby → call → demonstration
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the demonstration was abhorrent on social media, adding that the upcoming holiday is a stark reminder of our shared responsibility to confront the devastating legacy of the residential school system.
asserted
holiday → say → system
“Courageous survivors shared the truth, so that all Canadians could take up the work of reconciliation,” he posted.
uncertain
he → share → reconciliation
Second Sons claims it was formed in 2024 so men could get together to do fitness and combat training as well as political activism, which its website says means posting on social media, making flyers or stickers and gathering en masse in public.
uncertain
website → claim → public
The Aporia
