Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc has provided an update on the 215 probable grave sites located on the property of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The update says the investigation has been more complex than initially thought, with the band taking a “multi-pronged” approach, including the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR), a LiDAR scanner and historic human remains detection dogs.
TteS Kúkwpi7 Rosanne Casimir posted the update on Feb. 17.
In May 2021, the band announced the discovery of 215 unmarked probable graves on the grounds of the residential school. The results of the search prompted other First Nations to conduct similar searches, many of which produced similar results.
Reactions to the discovery ranged from denial to further trauma, with residential school survivors retelling their stories and deniers questioning information released by the band, putting TteS in a position that has required the band to balance sensitivity toward victims and demands of transparency in its investigation.
“While we want facts and answers as quickly as possible, we face significant challenges in accessing government and Catholic Church records for the 88-year period the school operated,” Casimir’s update reads.
The Catholic Church of Canada operated the school from 1890 to 1969. It was then operated by the federal government until its closure in 1978.
Casimir said the investigation’s progress has been hindered by “government restrictions on certain records” and slow response times.
“Analyzing such records is critical for several reasons, including determining to which of the 38 Indigenous nations these children belonged. We also have a responsibility to consult with the Nations as part of this work,” Casimir wrote.
The band has even dealt with trespassers on its lands, seeking to unearth the remains themselves, leading to security measures and further restrictions in accessing the land, which was designated a national historic site in 2024.
Further denialism has persisted through provocateurs on social media and fringe far-right political movements, including by OneBC MLAs Tara Armstrong and Dallas Brodie, who visited Kamloops’ TRU campus in November 2025. The duo was barred from entering campus buildings, trespassed from the property and ridiculed by counter-protesters.
With few details, the latest update may do little to quell those denying the probable graves, but Casimir noted the band has a responsibility to work with all of the 38 Indigenous communities affected and that there is great sensitivity surrounding the matter.
“Each Nation upholds its own cultural and spiritual protocols for how ancestral remains must be treated. We also understand that full consensus may never be achieved. Possible future outcomes could be to preserve the orchard as a sacred site – a place of memory and healing – or excavate,” she wrote.
“Any remains would need to be repatriated to their home communities, an extremely complex and sensitive process involving extensive consultation with the nations, DNA analysis, forensic expertise and adherence to appropriate laws and protocols.”
Casimir said LiDAR and GPR work has ruled out the presence of utility lines or clay tiles, that there are “signatures that resemble burials” in some areas and that other areas had been ruled out as burials, while others “cannot confidently be ruled out.”
“Our announcement was guided by the independent expert’s findings, facts and observations together with oral histories shared by residential school survivors,” she wrote regarding the original announcement in 2021.