Eyes of world on Sask. as media focuses on Marieval discovery

The discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves on Cowessess First Nation has thrown Saskatchewan into the international media spotlight, as the legacy of residential schools appears on TV screens, radio broadcasts and newspaper pages around the globe.

Al Jazeera, CNN and even a Russian propaganda channel were among foreign media at a Thursday news conference detailing the findings. They heard Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron speak of a Canadian “genocide” and efforts to “exterminate” First Nations.

“We had concentration camps here, we had them here in Canada, in Saskatchewan,” he said. “They were called Indian residential schools.”

In Germany, where those words have their own painful resonance, they were largely absent from mainstream coverage of the tragic news from Marieval Indian Residential School. ZDF, one of

Germany's public broadcasters, ran a brief segment along with a graphic announcing “hundreds of children's graves discovered.” The presenter spoke of a residential school system that ripped children away from their families and condemned them to lives “often marked by violence and abuse.”

German newspapers and news magazines relied on wire copy from European agencies. Though some cited Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme calling the site “a crime scene,” they opted against using Cameron's most explosive language. No prominent German news source reviewed by the Leader-post made any comparison with that country's own history.

American newspapers with bureaus in Canada presented some of the most thoughtful reporting. The New York Times and the Washington Post reported stories heavy on context, historical background and parallels with their country's reckoning with Native Americans.

Nicole Chavez, a CNN reporter who attended the Cowessess virtual conference from San Antonio, contributed to reporting as part of the channel's Race and Equality Team. She believes the story has special relevance in the United States.

“In the U.S. we're really looking at this story because of the shared history that both of these countries have,” she said. “Our neighbours are going through this, and it's in some ways a shared fight for communities of colour.”

Chavez has been covering a commitment by U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is herself Native American, to conduct investigations of American boarding schools in the wake of the discovery of 215 bodies last month at a former residential school in Kamloops. “That reckoning is happening, right now, in this past month, because of everything that's happening in Canada,” said Chavez. “It has really become a stark reminder of the history — the U.S. history — of boarding schools.”

She found it “shocking” to hear the estimate of the unmarked graves at Cowessess — currently put at 751.

“It was a confirmation that this is something we need to keep on,” she said. “Our team, we recognize that there's this connection between the U.S. and Canada. So we will definitely be following this, and reporting more on what's happening in the U.S.”

Spain's most prominent newspaper, El Pais, led by calling Cowessess a reminder of Canada's “darkest past.” French-language media were more likely to pick up the term “crime against humanity,” as Le Monde did. Le Figaro, France's leading centre-right newspaper, was among the most scathing, with an article on how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Roman Catholic Church are “under fire.”

Unlike German media, Le Figaro cited Cameron's comments about genocide and concentration camps. British coverage focused on history, the role of the Catholic Church and Delorme's demand for an apology from the Pope.

The Times of London featured that call in its headline, and led by speaking about “Canada's colonial history,” a term also applicable to Britain. The Guardian also used that phrase, and featured Delorme's message to the Pope in a video posted to its website.

Some international reporting was rife with errors. The Associated Press sent out a story that egregiously misspelled Delorme's name as “Cadmusn Delmore.” It appeared everywhere from Australia to India.

Russia Today, a state-funded outlet that attempts to present itself as a news channel, ran an opinion piece that drew on the Cowessess discovery to argue that “the silence on Canada's Indigenous deaths shame shows there are double standards on global human rights.”

It looked to draw parallels between Canada grappling with the most shameful passage of its history and the ongoing repression of China's Uighur's population in a totalitarian state.