SUGARCANE'S HORRIFIC FALSE AND UNVERIFIED CLAIM THAT BABIES WERE THROWN INTO THE ST JOSEPH'S INCINERATOR LIBELS CANADA AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
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By Nina Green
INTRODUCTION
In its final frames, Sugarcane, which is short-listed for an Oscar in the feature documentary category, claims that:
The ongoing investigation at St. Joseph's Mission has uncovered a pattern of infanticide.
Ed Archie NoiseCat is the only known survivor of the school's incinerator.
The claim that the 'investigation' conducted by long-time Indian activist Charlene Belleau in the film 'has uncovered a pattern of infanticide' is completely false, from which it necessarily follows that the claim that Sugarcane is a factual documentary is also completely false, and the film should thus not be in contention for an Oscar in the feature documentary category.
Sugarcane achieved its nomination by convincing countless film critics over the course of the past year since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 that the claim that 'a pattern of infanticide' was uncovered is true, and that the film is a factual documentary.
How did Sugarcane convince film critics that it is factual, and should be in contention for an Oscar as a factual documentary?
The answer is that Sugarcane confuses viewers, including film critics, by constantly jumping from location to location and person to person, in many cases without identifying the location or the persons involved.
As well, Sugarcane confuses viewers by employing innuendo and a 'guilt by association' technique through the inclusion of documents and video footage related to other Indian residential schools (Kamloops, Kuper Island, Lejac) without revealing to viewers that these documents and video footage have nothing at all to do with the former St Joseph's Indian Residential School at Williams Lake.
But most importantly, Sugarcane confuses viewers by pursuing three different story lines in a way which obscures the truth and leaves viewers unable to realize that the so-called 'investigation' story line has actually produced no verifiable evidence of infanticide whatever.
The Antoinette Archie story line
The first story line attempts to come to grips with the trauma inflicted on Edwin Archie NoiseCat by the fact that on the night of 16 August 1959 his 20-year-old Indian mother, Antoinette Archie, put him in the St Joseph's Indian Residential School garbage burner as a newborn, a near-death experience from which he was fortunately rescued by the school's dairyman. Why 20-year-old Antoinette Archie put her newborn in the garbage burner, and why she was at St Joseph's Indian Residential School in the first place on that night in August 1959 is never resolved in Sugarcane because Antoinette Archie refuses to talk about it. The confusion about what really happened is compounded by the fact that although Antoinette Archie appears in several scenes in Sugarcane, her name is kept secret from viewers throughout, making it difficult for viewers to appreciate that the person Julian Brave NoiseCat, one of Sugarcane's co-directors, calls Kye7e [the Shuswap word for 'grandmother'] in those scenes is actually the woman who put her newborn in the garbage burner.
Sugarcane also fails to disclose to viewers that Antoinette Archie completed high school at the Kamloops Indian Residential School at a time when, according to the false claim of the Kamloops Band alluded to at the beginning of Sugarcane, children were being murdered and secretly buried at the Kamloops school. Since Antoinette Archie was actually at the Kamloops school when it is claimed these murders and secret burials took place, why is she never asked about them in Sugarcane? The answer is that Antoinette Archie knows they didn't take place.
The Rick Gilbert story line
The second story line involves Rick Gilbert (1946-2023), a former Chief of the Williams Lake Indian Band who died before Sugarcane was released.
Sugarcane suppresses the fact that Rick Gilbert first made the claim he was fathered by a priest to Sugarcane co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat in a three hour on-camera interview in August 2021, as recounted by NoiseCat in a YouTube video on 19 November 2021 and in an article on 23 November 2021. In that first account, NoiseCat said Gilbert 'told me he was the illegitimate child of the priest at the school, the product of kidnap and rape. The 'kidnap and rape' version was too preposterous even for the co-directors of Sugarcane, and was completely suppressed in the film.
Instead of revealing to viewers Gilbert's preposterous first version involving kidnap and rape by a priest, Sugarcane tones down Gilbert's allegation, and focuses on 'proving' that the priest in question was Father James Michael McGrath, principal of St Joseph's from October 1942 to July 1946.
In Sugarcane, Gilbert is badgered by his wife, Anna - on the basis of an unreliable DNA test by Ancestry which reveals his racial background is 55% white - into claiming he is Father McGrath's son. The Ancestry DNA test in question reveals only racial background. It cannot establish paternity. Nonetheless Anna insists Rick is Father McGrath's son on the basis of this spurious DNA 'evidence' - this despite the fact that Rick Gilbert's mother, Agatha Thomas (1928-1965) was discharged from St Joseph's Indian Residential School at the age of 16 in 1944, two years before Rick Gilbert was born on 11 October 1946, and was already married to Rick's legal father, Edward George Gilbert (1912-1977), when she gave birth to Rick.
For undisclosed reasons, Catholic Bishops took Rick Gilbert to Rome as part of a delegation to hear Pope Francis' apology for Indian residential schools on 1 April 2022. In Rome, Sugarcane filmed Gilbert falsely telling Father Louis Lougen, Superior General of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, that ' my mother was abused by a priest, and that's how I was born'. In the interview with Father Lougen, Rick Gilbert's preposterous original version - that his mother was kidnapped and raped by a priest - is again deliberately suppressed in Sugarcane.
The Charlene Belleau Canadian-taxpayer-funded so-called 'investigation' story line
The third story line involves an amateur 'investigator', long-time Indian activist Charlene Belleau (born 1953) of the Canim Lake and Alkali Lake Indian Bands. Sugarcane withholds from viewers the information that Belleau's so-called 'investigation' at Williams Lake is funded by 8 million dollars of Canadian taxpayer funds, not by the makers of Sugarcane, and that she (Belleau) is related in some way to almost everyone of significance who appears in, or is alluded to, in the film.
By burying Belleau's so-called three-year 'investigation' in footage involving the other two story lines, Sugarcane prevents viewers from realizing that by the end of the film Belleau has interviewed almost no one, has not discovered a single new document, and has been unable to provide a scintilla of credible evidence that any student at St Joseph's was unaccounted for, or that any baby was ever incinerated in the school's garbage burner.
Moreover Belleau herself attended St Joseph's and had a positive experience there. Belleau told the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) hearing on 9 March 1993 that her experience at St Joseph's was positive, as were the experiences of her mother and grandmother (see RCAP transcript).
Yet despite the fact that she lived at St Joseph's for several years and obviously had a front-row seat to witness infanticide if it was going on, in Sugarcane Charlene Belleau offers no personal recollections of babies being thrown into the incinerator while she was at the school. Her husband, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Steve Belleau, also attended St Joseph's, yet she does not interview her husband in Sugarcane to ask what personal recollections he has of infanticide at the school. Nor does Belleau interview former Chief Bev Sellars (born 1955), who was at St Joseph's at the same time as Belleau and wrote a detailed description of life at St Joseph's in her autobiography which makes no mention of babies thrown into incinerators. Nor does Belleau interview Chief Willie Sellars' father, who attended St Joseph's, and has never said anything publicly about babies being tossed into incinerators. Nor does Belleau interview her brother- and sister-in-law, Dave and Marilyn Belleau, or any of her siblings or her many other relatives who also attended St Joseph's to ask about their personal recollections of babies being thrown into the St Joseph's incinerator. In fact there are literally hundreds of former St Joseph's students and people who worked at the school still living, and Belleau does not interview a single one of them in Sugarcane to ask for their personal recollections of babies being born to priests and thrown into the St Joseph's incinerator. Why does Belleau choose not to interview in Sugarcane a single person who was actually a student at St Joseph or who worked at the school during the years when the alleged infanticide was taking place? It can only be because she knows that not a single one of them could testify to having any personal knowledge of infanticide while they were there because it didn't happen.
In other words, Belleau's so-called 'investigation', paid for by millions of dollars from hard-working Canadian taxpayers, came up completely empty, yet Sugarcane withholds that fact from viewers, and the film ends with the false and horrific claim that:
The ongoing investigation at St. Joseph's Mission has uncovered a pattern of infanticide.
Ed Archie NoiseCat is the only known survivor of the school's incinerator.
Sugarcane thus ends with a false and horrific claim that viewers are told is true, but for which the film itself has provided no verifiable evidence whatever.
The only way to establish that this is the case, i.e. that no evidence whatever has been provided in Sugarcane for the false claim that Charlene Belleau's so-called 'investigation' has 'uncovered a pattern of infanticide', is to analyze what people in the film say, and the context in which they say it. That context is provided below through a detailed fact check of Sugarcane.
DETAILED FACT CHECK OF SUGARCANE
Sugarcane opens with a shot of a statue of the Virgin Mary and Infant Jesus spotted with red lichen; the camera then pulls back to show an old barn, and reveals that the statue is situated in an old cemetery
[message on screen]
Beginning in 1894, the Canadian government forced Indigenous children to attend segregated boarding schools. The schools were designed to 'get rid of the Indian problem'. Most were run by the Catholic Church.
FACT CHECK:
-the word 'forced' is false; parents had to sign application forms to have their children admitted to Canada's Indian residential schools
-the statement that Canada's Indian residential schools 'were designed to get rid of the Indian problem' is false; the statement was made by Duncan Campbell Scott in 1920 in the context of compulsory enfranchisement (getting rid of Indian status and reserves), not compulsory education
closer shot of the old barn
[message on screen]
For years, students spoke of abuse and whispered about missing classmates.
shot of road to Williams Lake
Voice of female newscaster: Across the country symbols of mourning and grief. Flags were lowered to half mast, vigils held, and shoes lined up to represent the 215 unmarked graves on the ground of a former residential school in Kamloops, re-opening old wounds for Indigenous families torn apart.
FACT CHECK:
-the claim by the Kamloops Band that it had discovered 'the remains of 215 children' at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School was false from the outset; the Kamloops Band has since downgraded the claim on its website to the discovery of '215 anomalies', has stalled the RCMP investigation for almost four years, and has refused to excavate the site
shot of Julian Brave NoiseCat [hereafter JBN] driving while listening to news report
shot of Julian's father, Edwin Archie NoiseCat [hereafter EAN] carving in his studio [in Washington state?]
as JBN drives onto the Williams Lake Indian Reserve, he passes a sign with the word 'Mission Rd.', another sign 'Welcome to Sugarcane, Williams Lake', another sign 'Council Election Aug 18, 9AM to 8PM at Gym'
car drives past Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church on reserve, houses; barn again shown in distance with statue in old cemetery
phone call to EAN from JBN; EAN picks up in his studio
JBN shown standing outdoors on small hillside looking at old barn, almost all that is left of the former St Joseph's Indian Residential School buildings on what is now the Williams Lake Indian reserve
EAN: Hey there.
JBN: Hey Dad, Happy Birthday!
EAN: Thank you.
JBN: Yeah.
EAN: Where are you?
JBN: Um, I'm lookin' at the place where you were born. I'm at St Joseph's Mission.
FACT CHECK:
-Sugarcane's use throughout of the term 'Mission' confuses viewers; the location is the site of the former federally-funded St Joseph's Indian Residential School, also known as the Cariboo Indian Residential School
EAN: Are you really? Oh my God. I've been thinking about that place all day. I was the lucky boy.
shot of a pensive-looking EAN
[title on screen]
A FILM BY
JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT
& EMILY KASSIE
shot of bronc rider coming out of chute at Williams Lake Stampede
[title on screen]
FEATURING
shot of JBN in Powwow dance costume taken from behind, with no identifying name
[title on screen]
CHARLENE BELLEAU
no shot of Charlene Belleau; shot of coals being shovelled into sweat lodge
[title on screen]
RICK GILBERT
shot of Rick Gilbert with violin
[title on screen]
WILLIE SELLARS
shot of Willie Sellars, Chief of the Williams Lake Indian Band, digging grave in cemetery
[title on screen]
ED ARCHIE NOISECAT
shot of EAN carving
[title on screen]
SUGARCANE
shot of Chief Willie Sellars racing up the stairs to his office in the Williams Lake Band Administration building to appear on a news program; sets iPhone on stack of books
voice of male reporter: St Joseph's Mission Residential School shut down in 1981. It's long been linked to allegations of physical and sexual abuse. . . .
voice of different male reporter: The Williams Lake First Nation is about 300 kilometres northwest of Kamloops, which was the site of a discovery of projected(?) graves. Let's bring in Chief Willie Sellars. He is the First Nations Chief in Williams Lake. Good to see you, Chief. Thank you for taking the time for CTV News.
FACT CHECK:
-as noted in the introduction, the Kamloops Band's claim to have discovered 'the remains of 215 children' was false from the outset; Sugarcane never informs viewers that the Kamloops Band's claim is false
Chief Willie Sellars: No, thanks for having me.
voice of CTV broadcaster: The reaction to the community? What went through your mind, Chief?
Willie Sellars: You're angry, and you're disgusted, and you're hurt, and it's even a trigger for me. My Dad attended residential school, and so did my grandma. My grandma even worked there. We see the impacts on our community every single day. You know, you want to hold these individuals accountable, you want to hold the entities accountable.
FACT CHECK:
-why does Sugarcane not feature Chief Willie Sellars' father testifying that babies were thrown into the St Joseph's incinerator while he was a student at the school? (the answer seems obvious: because the alleged infanticide never happened)
-why does Sugarcane not explain why Willie Sellars' grandmother, Martha Sellars (1920-1992) worked at St Joseph's while babies were being thrown into the St Joseph's incinerator? (the answer seems obvious: the alleged infanticide never happened)
-since Chief Willie Sellars specifically mentions his grandmother's connection to St Joseph's, why does Sugarcane not disclose another important relationship between participants in Sugarcane, i.e., that Agatha (nee Thomas) Gilbert (1928-1965), the mother of Rick Gilbert (who is prominently featured in Sugarcane), was stabbed to death on 25 March 1965 in a drunken brawl at the house of Chief Willie Sellars' paternal grandmother, Martha Sellars, on the Williams Lake reserve?
shot of investigator Charlene Belleau taking binder down from shelf
[message on screen]:
The Williams Lake First Nation is investigating abuse and deaths at nearby St. Joseph's Mission.
[title on screen]
CHARLENE BELLEAU
INVESTIGATOR
shot of Whitney Spearing with documents
[title on screen]
WHITNEY SPEARING
INVESTIGATOR & ARCHAEOLOGIST
shot of Charlene Belleau and Whitney Spearing seated at tables in British Columbia Archives(?) going through documents, opening a drawer filled with boxes of microfilm reels (fronts of drawers have labels 'Deaths')
FACT CHECK:
-shot of microfilm reels establishes that Charlene Belleau has accessed death records for children at British Columbia's Indian residential schools and knows that all children have been accounted for in these and other provincial and federal government records
-the BC government turned over BC death records for Indian children aged four to nineteen to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2014; these death records have been available to Indian researchers (but not to other researchers) through the TRC and the University of Manitoba's NCTR Archives since that time
shot of Charlene Belleau putting a reel on microfilm reader
Charlene Belleau (reading from document): The Indians, being nomadic by nature, wish to be free to come and go as they please. It is not surprising, therefore, that their children found the confinement and discipline of school life hard to bear, and that, consequently, several of them ran away. One of these, a young boy, was found dead in the woods (page shown on screen).
FACT CHECK:
- Belleau's use of microfilm falsely implies this document was unknown to her until now; passage she reads is an excerpt from the Memoirs of Father Francois Marie Thomas, O.M.I., published in 1992 at the beginning of Victims of Benevolence by Elizabeth Furniss, a publication with which Belleau was closely involved
-document refers to Duncan Sticks, who died in 1902 after running away from St Joseph's in winter with eight other boys; a five-day inquest was held, and circumstances of Duncan Sticks' death are well known, including the fact that the principal of St Joseph's searched for Duncan Sticks all night to the point of exhaustion but Indians of Williams Lake reserve did not assist with the search for Duncan
About minute 8:00
Whitney Spearing reads from a document: Two girls skipped out on Friday night. They were both drowned, and only one body has been recovered. Father Dunlop is very upset but I feel certain that no blame can be attached to him or anyone at the school.
FACT CHECK:
-Spearing misleads viewers; account she reads is entirely unrelated to St Joseph's in Williams Lake and describes an incident which took place at the Kuper Island Indian Residential School on Vancouver Island; while reading, Spearing cherry-picks from paragraph, skipping details which say the girls stole a boat and tried to get home to Duncan (for a detailed account which says the girls were trying to get to the Indian dances, see the CBC's A Dinner At Oblate House)
NOTE: PART OF THE TEXT OF THE DOCUMENT WHICH APPEARS ONSCREEN WHILE SPEARING READS ALOUD:
Thanks very much for the [print blurred]. I just want to remind you that as of January [print blurred] the school account must be kept absolutely [print blurred] sell the herds at Cranbrook and at [print blurred] nor Fr. Collins feels that he can [print blurred] the farm.
Had a phone call from Father Bert Dunlop [print blurred] Two girls skipped out on Friday night, took the skiff [print blurred] boat and tried to get home to Duncan. They were both drowned [print blurred] body has been recovered. Fr. Dunlop is very upset but I feel [print blurred] no blame can be attached to him or anyone at the school.
Your Local Chapter did not waste any time [print blurred] a delegate and substitute. They spent half a day [print blurred] Fr. John Burns here at the Provincial House.
With kind regards and every good wish [print blurred] sincerely in [print cut off]
photo of boys ready for bed
FACT CHECK:
-misleading, as photo is from much later than 1920, when Augustine Allen (see comment below) was at St Joseph's
Charlene Belleau: My uncle committed suicide at the school. They couldn't even get the coroner to look into what happened here, like, why are they dying? Like, it's just another dead Indian, and who cares?
FACT CHECK:
-Charlene Belleau has variously claimed over the years that Augustine Allen, who died in 1920, was her great-grandfather, her grandfather, her great-uncle, her uncle, and 'an elder in our family', but has never provided evidence that he was related to her in any way
-Augustine Allen and the other boys did not try to commit suicide; they mistakenly ate the roots of poisonous water hemlock, which resembles an edible plant (at one time Belleau erroneously claimed the boys died from 'drinking a poisonous hemlock mixture')
-doctor, police, and coroner were all involved, contrary to Charlene Belleau's assertion
shots of photo of a boy, Charlene and Whitney looking at album of photographs
About minute 9:00
shot of photo of a Grade 9 class in 1963-64 at St Joseph's
Charlene Belleau: Lots of these were actually victims. Cyril Paul. Committed suicide. Oliver Johnson committed suicide (pointing to someone in the photo)
FACT CHECK:
-Cyril Paul shot himself at age 47, which a Vancouver Sun article dated 27 June 1997 points out was only a few weeks after he testified at Charlene Belleau's Alkali Lake Residential School Inquiry held 19-21 May 1997
- Cyril Paul was the son of Walter Paul, who in turn was the son of Paul James Stanislaus, father of Augustine Allen (see above) who Charlene Belleau claims in Sugarcane was her uncle
-Oliver Johnson's death certificate states he was hit by a vehicle, i.e. he did not commit suicide, as Belleau alleges
shot of another class photo, followed by a close-up
Charlene Belleau: That's me.
shot of Charlene Belleau opening fridge, filling a milk bottle, cuddling in bed with a giggling child, shutting off light
video clip from The Eyes Of Children showing little girls (one with hair in rags) brushing teeth, going to bed at Kamloops Indian Residential School, kneeling and saying the Our Father together with a nun
FACT CHECK:
-Sugarcane makes extensive use of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) 1962 documentary on the Kamloops Indian Residential School, The Eyes Of Children; this is done without any attribution at all until almost the end of the film, and even then viewers are not told that The Eyes Of Children depicts life at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School; viewers are thus misled throughout Sugarcane into thinking they are watching old video clips showing life at St Joseph's Indian Residential School
shot of long empty hallway
About minute 10:38
JBN and EAN driving (perhaps to EAN's home in Washington state?)
EAN: Did you find any new details up at Williams Lake about, about my, my little story.
JBN: About your stuff?
EAN: Yeah.
JBN: Ah, do you wanna know?
shots of EAN's carvings, likely at his home in Washington state
[title on screen]
ED ARCHIE NOISECAT
JULIAN'S FATHER
EAN sitting smoking
[title on screen]
JULIAN BRAVE NOISECAT
ED'S SON
About minute 11:36
EAN: It's not something that you wanna just open up and, you know, it's pretty fuckin' secretive stuff when you were born at a mission school and thrown away.
JBN: Well, for something that important to our literal existence, I think I want to know the whole story.
EAN: We don't have the whole story, cause I don't know it.
JBN: Well, I think your Mom would be the only person who knows.
FACT CHECK:
-Sugarcane never reveals the name of EAN's mother, Antoinette Archie, despite JBN acknowledging that she is 'the only person who knows' why she was at St Joseph's on the night of 16 August 1959 and why she put her newborn son in the garbage burner there
EAN: It's kind of like it just keeps on damaging. Just [shaking his head], just keeps on going.
JBN: I do think it's important to have gone home in the moment where they're trying to find the truth.
EAN: I've been dying to go up there, but you know, the shape of the roads now.
JBN: You're never dying to go up there. You don't go home that often.
About minute 13:00
sequence in which JBN wins 2022(?) Kamloopa PowWow dance competition at PowWow Grounds on Kamloops Indian reserve right next to the apple orchard at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School where the Kamloops Band falsely claimed on 27 May 2021 that 'the remains of 215 children' had been found
FACT CHECK:
-despite filming right next to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, co-directors JBN and Emily Kassie never disclose to viewers that they are filming right next to the former school, nor explain why they failed to interview anyone in the Kamloops Band on camera about the false claim by the Kamloops Band that it had discovered 'the remains of 215 children'
-JBN clearly knew much more about the Kamloops Band than is disclosed in Sugarcane; his 2015 thesis at Columbia University has a chapter on the Kamloops Indian Residential School, and he danced at the 2015 Kamloopa PowWow; JBN was also researching for a book prior to the false claim by the Kamloops Band that it had found 'the remains of 215 children' and may have had advance notice of the Kamloops Band's false claim
PowWow Grounds announcer's voice in background: The family would like to acknowledge the Kamloops Indian Residential School Survivors - their mother, their grandmother, their aunts and their sister
FACT CHECK:
-ironic statement in view of the fact that Sugarcane never discloses that JBN's grandmother, Antoinette Archie, was a 'Survivor' of the Kamloops Indian Residential School
shots of young girl dancing, woman putting on makeup, tents, vehicles, trailers, Mount Paul in background, JBN putting on face makeup, walking to Kamloops PowWow Grounds to perform, drummers, JBN and others dancing, judges
About minute 14:37
after dancing, JBN goes over to his grandmother, Antoinette Archie
FACT CHECK:
-although Antoinette Archie, the woman who put her baby in the St Joseph's garbage burner on the night of 16 August 1959, is here shown on camera, she is not identified by name, but merely referred to as Kye7e ['grandmother']
JBN: I'm not a young man anymore Kye7e. I feel like I sucked.
About minute 15:26
shot of JBN and an unidentified young woman [JBN's relative]
JBN: You guys gettin' going'?
Unidentified young woman: I'm staying another night.
JBN: Oh you are? You and your Mom [Denise Archie, JBN's aunt] are?
JBN: I don't think I got in.
Unidentified young woman: You never know.
JBN: I didn't get first. I know that.
PowWow Grounds announcer: And your first-place winner, 529, Julian Brave NoiseCat, your champion, men's traditional.
JBN, number 529, wins competition, goes over to his grandmother, Antoinette Archie, hugs her, says: I don't know if that'll ever happen again. I love you.
shot of JBN, his grandmother Antoinette Archie, and his aunt Denise Archie leaving Kamloops PowWow Grounds arm-in-arm and speaking in Secwepemctsin
FACT CHECK
-once again, Antoinette Archie is not identified by name, or as the woman who put her newborn in the garbage burner
About minute 16:36
shots of JBN at Antoinette Archie's house, cutting bone for dog, photos on walls, Antoinette Archie looking for photo album to find pictures of JBN
[title on screen]
KYE7E
JULIAN'S GRANDMOTHER
Antoinette Archie: Like I say, my pictures are, but I'll see if I can find an album.
shot of album with photos of kids, JBN among them
Antoinette Archie, looking through album: Oh yeah, here it is. Right here.
JBN: Let's see.
JBN: This is one of the first times my Mom brought me up here without my Dad. I remember she was really nervous, and I was really nervous too. And then my cousins built me a bike. My Mom has this one, so I think I'll do that one.
shot of photos on wall
Antoinette Archie: Before we went to residential school everybody spoke the Secwepemctsin, only Secwepemctsin, you know, in the community, nothing else. No Seme7. Then we were taken to the residential school. They were trying to get that, you know, out of us. And there's so much stuff, you know, some of the stuff that I should have, you know, talked about.
JBN: What sorts of stuff?
Antoinette Archie doesn't respond, sits stoically
FACT CHECK
-again, Antoinette Archie appears in a long scene, but is not identified as the woman who put her baby in the garbage burner
About minute 19:00
[title on screen]
SUGARCANE INDIAN RESERVE
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
JBN at home of Williams Lake elder Jean William
[title on screen]
JEAN WILLIAM
SURVIVOR, ST JOSEPH'S MISSION
JBN: You know, I've been trying to find out what happened to some of the children who were born at the Mission. I don't know if you know, but my Dad was born there.
Jean William: Well, everything was so secretive, and it was, for me it was years before I even found out some of the girls had babies there
FACT CHECK:
-no evidence is provided in Sugarcane that any student at St Joseph's had a baby while at the school other than EAN's mother, Antoinette Archie, who had not been a student at St Joseph's for several years prior to putting her baby in the school's garbage burner
JBN: Do you know where my father was found?
Jean William: Yeah, I heard that the night watchman had found him. They didn't know who the baby's mother was so they were going to examine all the girls in the area, and I was just so afraid. I was so afraid. When you're brought up in an institution like the Catholic Church um, you have strict rules, you know, and you went with their ethics. It was a sin, you know, and here the ones that were telling us it was a sin, they were the one that did all the action.
FACT CHECK:
-Jean William fails to disclose that she has known Antoinette Archie for many years
-her comment about being 'so afraid' because they were 'going to examine all the girls in the area' suggests that her concern was that some girls would be discovered to have been sexually active with their fellow students and/or partners on the reserve
-when given the opportunity by JBN to tell what happened to the children at St Joseph's, Jean William says nothing about missing children, clandestine burials, or babies thrown in the school's incinerator (the obvious reason being that she knows none of it happened)
About minute 21:00
shot of horse eating grass near cemetery, Whitney Spearing surveying, GeoScan employee using GPR machine, pig rooting around, Whitney Spearing going into old barn
shots of abandoned copy of New Testament, Whitney Spearing climbing into loft of old barn with unidentified older man
Whitney Spearing, referring to graffiti in barn: See that. Augustine Charlie 1943. Oh man, it's everywhere. It's all names.
Unidentified older man reads: 'Melvin Alphonse 1976'
Whitney Spearing: 'Lucy's baby', '73 days more till home time'
clip of old video of St Joseph's with two boys holding up title 'Indian Mission School'; video shows old school buildings, old church
About minute 23:00
shot of exterior of Band Office in Williams Lake with sculpture of running horse in front
Charlene Belleau: Do any of you remember the names of any staff members or other brothers or priests?
names offered by people in group; Charlene writes some of them down:
Brother MacDonald
Brother Girard
Father Casey
Father Morris
Father [unintelligible]
[title on screen]
ROSALIN SAM
SURVIVOR, ST JOSEPH'S MISSION
Rosalin Sam: Price. I was abused by Father Price. Nobody listened to me. I told my grandmother. She didn't want to hear me talk about it. I went to the nun. She told me to tell the priest. I told the priest. He told me to tell the Indian Agent. I told the Indian Agent. He told me to tell the RCMP. I told the RCMP. He went and told my Dad and my Dad beat the shit out of me. That's when I said, OK. I went and bought a bottle of wine and I got drunk. And I was an alcoholic after that.
FACT CHECK:
-Rosalin Sam (1949-2022) was a long-time activist who died before Sugarcane was released; her 'evidence' is inherently not credible in that the incident she describes obviously took place (if at all) when she was an adult, as no student at St Joseph's could go out and buy a bottle of wine and become an alcoholic while a student at the school; moreover there is no mention of a 'Father Price' in the Department of Indian Affairs school narrative for St Joseph's
Charlene Belleau, with tears in voice: It's OK to cry. It's OK to cry. Let's just hold each other.
About minute 25:16
shot of Charlene Belleau using cutters to opening a case containing old videos of Charlene as an activist
young Charlene Belleau's voice in video: Thinking about the residential schools, those young people and those children are suffering because their parents never dealt with what they have to deal with.
Charlene Belleau's voice in another video: My name is Charlene. Like the rest of you here, I don't want to live with that anger and that rage from residential school.
Charlene Belleau's voice in another video: They can either work cooperatively with us or, you know, we're considering legal action
voice of the CBC's Gillian Findley(?): So you'll take them to court?
Charlene Belleau: Yeah.
Charlene's voice in another video: You know, our community has been just screwed around enough by everybody, and we're not going to go through it again. I don't give a shit if it's the Oblates, the government, or whoever. You're gonna goddam well be accountable, and we're gonna start now.
shot of Charlene looking at Final Report Submitted to The Law Commission of Canada 23 October 1998 which contains a reference to her Alkali Lake Residential School Inquiry in 1997
About minute 26:28
shots of car driving down road, JBN on hill looking down on old barn, Charlene entering barn, JBN offering her help up the ladder to the barn loft
JBN: Hi Auntie. Need a hand?
Charlene Belleau: Oh, it's not even stable?
JBN reading graffiti in barn loft: '49 G T'.
Charlene Belleau: You know, it's their number. So, my number when I was here was 165. So everybody was given a number. So instead of calling you by their name, they'd call you by their number.
FACT CHECK:
-in 2021, Charlene Belleau told the CBC her number was 169; now she claims it was 165
shot of Charlene Belleau smudging herself, Julian looking apprehensive
Charlene Belleau, praying: Great grandfather, Creator of all good things. I pray to you and I thank you for, for bringing Julian home to us. [voice breaking] Julian, I ask you to open your eyes, your ears, your heart. [weeping] In this barn, this is where they strung them up on three poles, and they would lash them (gesturing) until they passed out. [Charlene weeping, sighing, Julian almost in tears] Our elders are now looking to you to listen to our stories. You're bearing witness to a time in history where our people are going to stand up, and you're going to make sure that people are held accountable for everything that they've done to us.
FACT CHECK:
-for years Charlene Belleau has made the blatantly ridiculous claim, without providing a scintilla of evidence, that children at St Joseph's were tied to poles and flogged until they passed out
shots of what appears to be the barn at night, lighted from within
About minute 29:30
JBN driving at night, cows blocking road
shots of fires raging, churches burning, steeples toppling
female radio announcer: Churches across the country have been targeted in a series of vandalism or arson attacks in recent weeks following the discovery of unmarked graves in residential schools operated by the Catholic Church. The Prime Minister called the attacks unacceptable and wrong.
FACT-CHECK:
-false allegations such as those made by the Kamloops Indian Band that it had found 'the remains of 215 children' and the false claim in Sugarcane that a 'pattern of infanticide' has been uncovered have resulted in a hundred churches in Canada being burned or vandalized
shot of statue, photos on wall of Rick Gilbert's house, including wedding photo (large group), crucifix and rosary on wall in middle of photos, photo of Chief Dan George
About minute 30:39
[title on screen]
RICK GILBERT
FORMER CHIEF, WILLIAMS LAKE FIRST NATION
[title on screen]
ANNA GILBERT
RICK'S WIFE
shots of Rick Gilbert and his wife returning items to Immaculate Conception Church on Williams Lake reserve which they had removed to their home for fear of arson at the church
Rick Gilbert talks to camera, tells story about a punishment at the Mission, i.e. if caught talking, 6 or 8 year old child had to hold large Bible over head for about an hour while kneeling
shot of church, Rick Gilbert and Anna returning items to their places, Anna cleaning, Rick playing organ
Anna Gilbert: We had to get everything out when I thought they were going to burn the church, right?
Rick Gilbert: Several churches in this area burnt. They're very angry people.
Anna Gilbert: They blamed the church for the residential school atrocities. People are people, people are human. We don't hold Jesus accountable for that.
About minute 33:31
video clip from 1962 CBC documentary The Eyes Of Children showing Mabel Caron, Indigenous teacher at Kamloops Indian Residential School, leading senior class in prayer, teaching lesson on telephone conversation manners; co-directors of Sugarcane appear to be unaware that Mabel Caron was Indigenous and that there were two other Indigenous teachers on staff at the Kamloops Indian Residential School when The Eyes of Children was filmed in 1962 - Joe Stanley Michel and Benjamin Paul
video clip from The Eyes Of Children showing a nun teaching a class of Grade 2 or 3 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School
video clip of The Eyes of Children showing two nuns walking, entering school building at Kamloops Indian Residential School, voice over of Rick Gilbert talking about Williams Lake.
voice of Rick Gilbert: It was always on the first week of September, a cattle truck came over from the Mission and loaded on all the kids from the rez. In my memory I can still see people dragging their kids crying to that truck. Pretty well no one escaped.
FACT CHECK:
-since parents had to sign application for admission forms for their children to be admitted to residential school, and since it was the parents who were taking their children to the truck, the word 'escaped' is inflammatory and misleading
video clip from The Eyes of Children of front of Kamloops Indian Residential School, children playing, again with voice over of Rick Gilbert talking about Williams Lake:
voice of Rick Gilbert: When it was time for me to go to the Mission, I was looking forward to it because I was going to be over there with all my brothers and sisters and friends and everything, but I have a different story when I got to the Mission.
FACT CHECK:
-since Rick Gilbert was the eldest of the nine children his mother, Agatha (nee Thomas) Gilbert, had by five different men, Rick, at age five, would not have been going to school to join his brothers and sisters, who were all too young to attend at that time
video clip from The Eyes Of Children showing Father Dunlop giving Communion to students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, followed by a shot of Rick Gilbert in Immaculate Conception church at Williams Lake
Rick Gilbert: Our elders, they held this religion so close to them that I feel that it's gotta be truth in there somewhere.
About minute 35:38
exterior shot of Rick Gilbert's house showing outside deck decorated house with cross, statues
shot of Rick and Anna looking at a laptop computer
Rick Gilbert: I still, I, I still resist.
Anna Gilbert: I know you do, but.
Rick Gilbert: Cause I have to find a direct DNA connection.
Anna Gilbert: Well, we've got the DNA.
Rick Gilbert: No.
Anna Gilbert: Yes, we do. Yes we do.
Rick Gilbert: All that you have is just [unintelligible], could have been
Anna Gilbert: No, no, darlin'. Here and I'll explain it to ya. We had the DNA test done, and ah, it says ah, 50% Ireland, 45% Indigenous, and 5% Scotland. So, you know, that's gotta say somethin'.
FACT CHECK:
-Ancestry DNA test for racial background is unreliable, and even if racial background results of Rick Gilbert's DNA test are accurate, they prove nothing about paternity other than that he had a white parent, as is the case with a great many status Indians in Canada
- according to an article by JBN published 23 November 2021, adapted from a speech by JBN at a Bioneers Conference on 19 August 2021, Rick Gilbert had never before claimed he was the son of a priest until JBN interviewed him for three hours on camera in August 2021; not a single minute of that interview, in which Gilbert claimed his mother was kidnapped and raped by a priest, was used in Sugarcane; it appears the co-directors of Sugarcane realized Gilbert's original story was too preposterous to 'fly' with viewers and might even provoke an investigation, so they suppressed the three-hour interview completely, which raises serious questions about the documentary's integrity;
moreover in the same article JBN claimed he had already been researching for a book and film for four months by August 2021, which, if accurate, indicates JBN had begun researching before the false announcement by the Kamloops Band on 27 May 2021 that it had discovered 'the remains of 215 children'
Rick Gilbert: Could be anybody.
Anna Gilbert: No, see right here. The only people that showed up in your DNA line are McGraths.
Rick Gilbert: No it didn't.
Anna Gilbert: Yes it is. OK. Brian McGrath. He's a second or third cousin.
Rick Gilbert: Mm.
Anna Gilbert: And it's over and over and over and over it's proven here.
Rick Gilbert: I need more proof.
photo of Father James Michael McGrath with students
Anna Gilbert: That's Father McGrath.
FACT CHECK:
-the co-directors of Sugarcane deliberately failed to interview this Brian McGrath in Sugarcane, almost certainly because they were aware Brian McGrath is no relation whatever to Father James Michael McGrath, former principal of St Joseph's, and that interviewing him in Sugarcane would cause the entire false claim concerning Rick Gilbert's parentage to fall apart
About minute 37:21
shots of exterior of Oblate Deschatelets-NDC Archives in Richelieu, Quebec, Whitney Spearing researching in archive, looking at old photos of St Joseph's, examining document with magnifying glass
Whitney Spearing: OK, so I'm gonna take this one. Let's just start with this one. So this is about the priests that were moved around.
Whitney Spearing reading from a document: What happened in Vancouver . . .why Father Maillard had him sent away from the Mission. He's been a pest amongst the children. He's given me enough worry without my having to be a nurse and an exceptionally vigilant guardian of the children's morals.
FACT CHECK:
-document from which Spearing is reading is signed by Father G. Forbes, principal at St Joseph's from July 1931 to June 1938; Spearing fails to read sentence 'Send Conan here, and you may as well close the school' which indicates opposition to moving priests around when there have been problems, not acceptance of the practice as Spearing claims
shot of portrait, map of Indian and Eskimo missions, likely at Oblate archives in Deschatelets-NDC Archives in Richelieu, Quebec
About minute 30:30
Shot of highway, Chief Willie Sellars going into a Tim Hortons, ordering a dozen orange doughnuts, offering them to two seated male customers, who don't take any
voice of female radio announcer: Their ghosts woke a country, the children who never came home. To many here, this day marks an end to the deafening silence that surrounded their stories for so long. This day coincides with Orange Shirt Day, a day that honours Indigenous children taken from their homes to residential schools.
FACT CHECK:
-Sugarcane here perpetuates the false claim that bodies have been found; in fact, not a single body of a residential school child has been excavated, despite the constant claims by Indian activists of thousands of alleged 'missing children and unmarked graves'
Chief Willie Sellars: Can I get a box of a dozen orange doughnuts?
employee: All orange?
Willie Sellars: All orange.
seated male customer, jokingly: I'll have one, Willie.
Willie Sellars: You want one? I'll give you one.
seated male customer: No.
Willie Sellars: You want one? Come on guys. Come on guys.
shot of fence with 'Orange Shirt Day September 30th' sign, Chief Sellars handing out doughnuts, food being dished out
Willie Sellars speaking to crowd: Chief Willie Sellars, Williams Lake First Nation. I am overwhelmed with the amount of support that we have here today. The first Truth and Reconciliation Day in the history of Canada. A national holiday. Can you believe it? [drumming] So we need to continue to tell the truth. We need to continue to hold each other up.
About minute 40:09
shot of line of cars [appears to be funeral procession], shot of Chief Willie Sellars with his four children in car
one of Sellars' children: There's an ambulance. What's going on?
another of Sellars' children: That's not good.
shots of scene of accident, two men smoking (younger one likely Chris Wycotte, twin brother of Stan Wycotte (see below), Immaculate Conception church on reserve in background
shot of interior of Chief Sellars' house at night, one child on his knee, other three on sofa
Chief Willie Sellars: You know how you keep asking if I'm OK and what I'm doin' and how you think somethin's wrong? Well, you know Skyla? Her Dad, Stan [Wycotte], hurt himself. He tried to commit suicide.
Sellars' son: What do you mean 'he tried'?
Chief Willie Sellars: The paramedics revived him.
Sellars' daughter: Is he dead?
Chief Willie Sellars: It doesn't look like he's gonna make it. And Stan was a good friend of Dad's. Are you guys OK?
outside shots of lightning in darkness, thunder, Chris Wycotte sitting in dark on fence, woman in dark, pop-up advertising balloon with Canadian flag on it blowing in the darkness
shot of Chief Willie Sellars digging grave, presumably for Stan Wycotte, in old cemetery
shot of three Indian drunks on bench in downtown Williams Lake, bantering with passerby, whistling
drunk woman, slurring her words: We were brought up at that St Joseph Mission.
[other dialogue]
another Indian shown smoking nearby, with can of beer in hand
shots of statue of Virgin and Child in cemetery covered with snow, cow in snowy field
shot of Immaculate Conception Catholic church on reserve, Christmas message from Rick and Anna Gilbert heard being broadcast in background, shot of Rick in interior of church, Silent Night playing
video clips from The Eyes Of Children showing decorated Christmas tree in the recreation room at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in 1962 with presents under tree, nun posing children at the school in a Nativity tableau
close-up of old photographs of students at St Joseph's Indian Residential School, some in colour
camera moves back to show that the photos are on bulletin board on a wall; Charlene Belleau and Whitney Spearing sitting at table facing photos with a laptop computer on table
Whitney Spearing posts a clipping and a label 'Father McIntee' on the bulletin board; other labels visible: Brother Doughty, 1960
FACT CHECK:
-Sugarcane here makes use of innuendo and guilt by association, and deliberately suppresses the fact that the convictions of Father Harold McIntee and Brother Glenn Doughty were related to male students at St Joseph's, and thus obviously offer no support for Charlene Belleau's false claim to have uncovered 'a pattern of infanticide' at St Joseph's
-according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Father Harold McIntee and Brother Glenn Doughty are the only two members of the Oblate order to have been convicted of sexual offences at any residential school in Canada during the entire period in which residential schools existed
-according to the TRC, Father Harold McIntee was convicted in 1989 of 13 counts of sexual assault related to St Joseph's and was sentenced to two years incarceration on each count concurrently and ordered to participate in a healing circle
-according to the TRC, Brother Glenn Doughty pleaded guilty in 1991 to four counts of gross indecency at St Joseph's for which he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, and in 2000 was convicted on other sex-related charges and sentenced to an additional three years' imprisonment
article from Williams Lake Tribune with red wool across it connecting other items on bulletin board; headline: Bishop convicted of sex offences
FACT CHECK:
-Sugarcane's use of the news report with the headline 'Bishop convicted of sex offences' is deliberately misleading because Bishop Hubert O'Connor successfully appealed the 1996 convictions, and a new trial on the rape charge was ordered, which the complainant, who was Charlene Belleau's sister-in-law, Marilyn Belleau (born 1947), agreed to settle via a healing circle at Alkali Lake organized by Charlene Belleau rather than go through a new trial, which would almost certainly have resulted in an acquittal since there was evidence the sexual relations were consensual
About minute 46:00
shot of three photos on bulletin board of Cariboo Indian Girls Pipe Band at St Joseph's
Charlene Belleau: A lot of the complainants in the O'Connor trial came from the Pipe Band. In the time frame that I was in the Pipe Band a lot of abuse happened.
FACT CHECK:
-Charlene Belleau's statement is deliberately misleading because although she was in the Pipe Band in the 1960s, the complainants in the O'Connor trial were employees at St Joseph's at the time, and, as noted above, Bishop O'Connor successfully appealed his 1996 convictions
full-screen photo of Pipe Band
Charlene Belleau: Some of those girls ended up pregnant and children were born by priests
FACT CHECK:
-Charlene Belleau's statement deliberately misleads viewers; as noted above, in Sugarcane Belleau produces no evidence that any student became pregnant 'by priests' while she was in the Pipe Band or while she was a student at St Joseph's
-Belleau also fails to disclose that the only former student who had a child by a priest (Father O'Connor) was Charlene Belleau's relative, Phyllis Bob (born 1942), a seamstress working at the school who was 25 years old when the baby was born in 1967
-most importantly, Belleau fails to disclose that her relative Phyllis Bob's baby was adopted and lived to the age of 23, a direct contradiction of the horrific false claim in Sugarcane that babies were incinerated at the school and that Ed Archie NoiseCat was the only known survivor of the incinerator
Whitney Spearing: Only three people out of that entire wall of abusers were convicted. The only person that's actually alive is Doughty. So [pointing to Doughty's name on the bulletin board] I think the chances of getting information from any one of them who are still alive is limited to that, realistically.
FACT CHECK:
-Spearing's statement that the names on the bulletin board constitute a 'wall of abusers' is libelous; as noted above, according to the TRC, only two members of the Oblate order were ever convicted of sexual abuse in the entire history of residential schools in Canada, Father Harold McIntee and Brother Glenn Doughty
-as noted above, Bishop O'Connor's conviction was reversed on appeal
shot of Charlene Belleau telephoning Brother Glenn Doughty
Brother Glenn Doughty: Hello.
Charlene Belleau: Hello. Is this Brother Doughty?
Brother Glenn Doughty: Yes, it is.
Charlene Belleau: Hi, it's Charlene Belleau. I don't know if you remember me, but I was at the residential school at the same time that you were there.
Brother Glenn Doughty: Oh.
Charlene Belleau: Do you remember any children not making it home or going missing when you were there?
Brother Glen Doughty: No, my dear. I don't remember. There was nothing when I was there, my dear.
Charlene Belleau: Oh, OK. OK.
FACT CHECK:
-Belleau disingenuously asks Brother Doughty about 'missing children' rather than babies tossed into incinerators because she and Doughty were at St Joseph's at the same time, and Belleau personally knows no babies were tossed into the school's incinerator while she and Doughty were there
-Brother Glenn Doughty was at St Joseph's from 1960-1966; Belleau (born 1953) says she was first enrolled in about Grade Five and left St Joseph's after about four years to attend middle school in Williams Lake; these facts establish that she attended public school in Williams Lake both before and after she attended St Joseph's, which directly contradicts Sugarcane's claim that Indian children were 'forced' to attend residential school
Brother Glen Doughty: But it's sad, isn't it? You know, those children, right? My dear, I'm sorry but I can't help you, OK.
Charlene Belleau: Yeah, you
Brother Glen Doughty: It was nice talking to you, dear, OK.
Charlene Belleau: OK.
Brother Glen Doughty: Bye, bye. Have a good day.
Charlene Belleau: OK. Thank you.
About minute 47:32
Whitney Spearing, adding red wool linking items on bulletin board: OK, let's backtrack a little bit, and I'm gonna put some other numbers on here, so.
shots of child being pulled on sleigh, boy on outdoor hockey rink
voice of female radio announcer: Eighteen months ago the community started its own investigation into the grounds around the school using ground-penetrating radar. The Chief hopes these preliminary findings will provide survivors and the nation with the knowledge it needs to continue this important work.
shot of Willie Sellars inside his house poring over papers, shots of his children going to bed for the night
Sellars' son: I have a feeling that they'll find something.
Sellars' daughter: I have a feeling too.
shots of Willie Sellars putting children to bed
shot of Rick Gilbert pouring tea
Rick Gilbert: Everybody's so hyped up at finding graves. Maybe there's none. I'm sure some people in town are going to say, There you go. All this hype and in the end there's no graves over there.
FACT CHECK:
-Rick Gilbert is right; despite 8 million dollars of Canadian taxpayers' money being provided by the federal government for Belleau's so-called 'investigation', after three years not a single missing child or unmarked grave has been found
About minute 49:20
shot of vehicle driving down snowy road in dark
shot of JBN, unidentified man lighting pipe for Larry Emile
JBN: Do you hear about any stories of babies being born at the Mission?
Larry Emile (with a long sigh): That's a tough one. Even just to answer that would be, would be hard. Man, I'm gettin' the shakes.
[title on screen]
LARRY EMILE
SURVIVOR, ST JOSEPH'S MISSION
Larry Emile, apparently continuing a conversation, part of which has been omitted: I can't remember if it was the next year or the same year that I seen that, that uh, them nuns packin' the baby, packin' the baby down the, the five of us. We're not supposed to be down at the incinerator. And then uh, one of them opened the door and let other one throw the baby in. [unintelligible] It's pretty wild. I'm probably the only survivor, well I know I'm the only survivor of that group that seen that [sighing, crying].
man brushing Larry Emile with eagle feather
Larry Emile: I'll never forget, and it's pretty hard to forgive.
FACT CHECK:
-a pointless interview in which no verifiable evidence is produced, part of the conversation is omitted, and the interviewee appears to be a long time alcoholic who claims to remember an event to which all the other witnesses are conveniently dead
chanting, drumming in background, winter day, shots of hot coals being shovelled into sweat lodge, water being poured into large metal pot, Chris Wycotte(?) shown leaning on shovel, David Michael Archie inside sweat lodge brushing coals with cedar boughs, two bare-chested men [one of them Chief Willie Sellars?] shovelling coals into sweat lodge, wood burning, prayers being said in background
shot of burned out forested area, shot of vehicle driving along road in distance, closeup of JBN at wheel
male radio announcer: The Williams Lake First Nation is expected to release preliminary information today following a geophysical examination of land near a former residential school in the city. The First Nation was looking for signs of unmarked graves.
FACT CHECK:
-this is the so-called 'investigation' of allegedly missing children and unmarked burials at the former St Joseph's Indian Residential School; in countless interviews co-directors Emily Kassie and JBN have said this 'investigation' was the raison d'etre for the making of Sugarcane; however, as noted, the so-called 'investigation' conducted by Charlene Belleau and filmed by Emily Kassie and JBN did not result in the finding of a single allegedly missing child or a single verifiable unmarked grave that was not located in the neglected cemetery
shot of JBN entering Williams Lake band administration building, hugging his aunt Denise Archie, who is holding a baby, and is seated next to Antoinette Archie; JBN sits down next to Denise
FACT CHECK:
-Chief Sellars' presentation on 25 January 2022 is oddly filmed in Sugarcane and may be a re-enactment; JBN, Antoinette Archie, Denise Archie, Charlene Belleau, Jean William(?) and others are shown seated in a room in the Williams Lake Band Administration office watching Sellars on a TV screen rather than being in the room in which Sellars is making the presentation, suggesting that the presentation was re-staged for Sugarcane
shot of Chief Willie Sellars and others seated at a table, with Rick Gilbert seated next to Sellars
shot of unidentified woman [Jean William?] and Charlene Belleau
Chief Willie Sellars: We are assembled today to present the initial results from the first phase of geophysical investigation of land surrounding the former St Joseph's Mission Residential School.
camera pulls back to reveal that audience, including JBN and the others in the room, are watching Chief Sellars' presentation on a large TV screen at the front of the room
Chief Willie Sellars: For decades there were reports of neglect and abuse at St Joseph's Mission, reports of children dying or disappearing from this facility. For the bulk of St Joseph's Mission history these reports were at best given no credence. At worst, there was something darker going on.
shots of JBN looking pensive and worried, Williams Lake Tribune reporter Monica Lamb-Yorski(?) standing at microphone, many TV cameras visible at back of room
voice of Whitney Spearing: To date 93 reflections have been recorded at the St Joseph's Mission.
closeup of Whitney Spearing speaking: Our current data suggest that 50 of the 93 reflections are not associated with the cemetery.
FACT CHECK:
-after three years, absolutely nothing has been found to substantiate that there is anything nefarious about these '93 reflections', nor has a shred of evidence been found to substantiate the horrific allegations made by Chief Willie Sellars during his presentation on 25 January 2022: “This journey has led our investigation team into the darkest recesses of human behaviour. Our team has recorded not only stories involving the murder and disappearance of children and infants, they have listened to countless stories of systematic torture, starvation, rape and sexual assault of children at St. Joseph’s Mission.”
shot of Antoinette Archie, head bowed, listening
voice of Whitney Spearing: All of them display varying characteristics and evidence of potential human burials.
shot of Antoinette Archie and JBN leaving band office
FACT CHECK:
-once again, Antoinette Archie is prominently featured in Sugarcane, but her name is withheld so that viewers have no idea who she is, or why she appears so frequently in the film
About minute 54:49
JBN driving down road, snowy landscape
JBN talking to EAN on cell phone: You should call your Mom today if you can.
EAN: You think so? Maybe later. It's a little too soon. I was wondering how Mom [Antoinette Archie] would have taken it [i.e., Chief Willie Sellars and Whitney Spearing's presentation] if I were there.
JBN: I don't know.
shot of JBN looking down on cemetery and old barn
JBN: But then I think, you know, there's a question of you and I. What do we do?
FACT CHECK:
-JBN's comment indicates that Sugarcane is not about substantiating its horrific claim that Charlene Belleau's so-called investigation has 'uncovered a pattern of infanticide' (since that false allegation cannot be substantiated in any way), nor is Sugarcane about revealing how and with whose help Antoinette Archie got to St Joseph's on the night of 16 August 1959, or why she put her newborn in the school's garbage burner, or where she went after giving birth, since Antoinette Archie refuses to explain what happened; as JBN comment indicates, Sugarcane is about JBN's resentment against his father EAN for divorcing his mother and 'abandoning' him (see below)
shot of town of Williams Lake in distance, closer shot of road at end of Williams Lake, shot of 4 Industries mural in Williams Lake, shot of Slumber Lodge motel
voice of Chief Willie Sellars reading an email
FACT CHECK:
-Sellars is almost certainly being filmed in his office in the Band Administration office, but shot of a window with what appear to be bullet holes in it makes it appear he is in the then-derelict Slumber Lodge Motel
voice of Chief Willie Sellars reading email: You are stone age savages who accomplished nothing before the whites came.
shot of window with bullet holes, apparently in the derelict Slumber Lodge Motel
voice of Chief Willie Sellars continuing to read the email: Everything you have came from us. You are the racists, not us. You were responsible for burying your children. You were the ones who did not mark the graves because you are cheap welfare parasites. Where were you and your people when your children were being abused? It didn't happen without your disgusting indifference. Shame on you and yours. It's as usual about money now. You'll of course misdirect, and assume no responsibility.
shot of computer screen showing Willie Sellars typing a reply ending with the words 'holding these individuals, these entities accountable'.
about minute 56:43
exterior of Rick Gilbert's house, birds chirping, time of year appears to be early spring
voice of Italian language instructor on computer: There are three ways of saying 'please'. The first one is 'Per favore'.
Rick Gilbert: Per favore.
voice of language instructor: Per favore. Per favore.
Rick Gilbert: Il menu, per favore.
voice of language instructor: Yes, that's perfect, Rick.
Rick Gilbert: Prego.
shots of interior of Rick Gilbert's house, birds at feeder on porch of Rick's house
[message on screen]
Rick has been invited to the Vatican for a meeting between Indigenous Canadians and Pope Francis
shots of Anna and Gilbert packing for Rick's trip to Rome, hugging goodbye, vehicle going down road, Rick driving, eating something
view from window as plane takes off from unidentified airport, sound of baby crying in background
summer day, shot of train going by, shot of EAN in T-shirt cleaning windshield of car
shots of bulletin board with missing person notices, Yale Thrift Shop notice, JBN paying for snack and gas inside store at Hope River RV Park in Emory Bar in the Fraser Canyon, EAN jogging to car in shorts and straw hat
EAN: You're a man now.
JBN: You're no longer a boy.
shot of JBN and EAN driving through wilderness area, singing Hey-ah-ho, Canada is all Indian land, Canada is all Indian land, Oh Canada is all Indian land, Hey-ah-ho.
shot of car crossing bridge over Fraser(?) River, EAN's voice in background: I just fuckin' love that song.
shot of large highway sign for Hungry Herbie's DriveIn [in Cache Creek], EAN and JBN eating fries and gravy there
shot of EAN dipping his hat in Fraser(?) River, EAN and JBN taking a selfie atop a picnic table, voice of EAN in background: All that you see is ours.
About 1 hour mark
shot of car driving through area with Coast mountains in background, shot of EAN with four pizza boxes in lap
JBN and EAN arrive at home of EAN's aunt, Martina Pierre
FACT CHECK:
-location of Martina Pierre's home not revealed, likely Mount Currie Indian Reserve, now Lil'wat First Nation
JBN, EAN: Hi Auntie. We brought pizza.
[title on screen]
MARTINA PIERRE
ED'S AUNT
Martina Pierre: That's good. My you're tall; you're taller than your Dad?
JBN: I've always been taller than him.
EAN: That's pretty arrogant(?).
JBN: Just an inch.
EAN: Well, I'm, I'm shrinking.
shot of JBN eating a wild root
Martina Pierre: We can cook that part, too. Tastes like broccoli. Just pull them down.
shot of two dogs lazing on porch
EAN: So part of the question that we're trying to solve is there's a gap between when I was born and when I was living with my Kye7e], at Canim Lake, um, cause you do know what happened with me, right?
Martina Pierre: No.
EAN: Not at all?
Martina Pierre: No.
EAN: Oh. As far as we know, I was born upstairs at the Mission school.
Martina Pierre: In where?
EAN: In Williams Lake.
Martina Pierre: Really?
EAN: Yes.
Martina Pierre: So where does my brother fit in there then?
EAN: With?
Martina Pierre: With you?
EAN: We, that's what we're trying to figure out. He's my Dad, and he and my Mom ended up together, but there was some turmoil in the beginning.
FACT CHECK:
-Martina Pierre is referring to her brother, Ray Peters (1928-2005), who fathered EAN and who later married Antoinette Archie, and who had seventeen children by five different women
-Ray Peters is never mentioned by name in Sugarcane, despite the fact that he was the father of the baby put in the garbage burner at St Joseph's
Martina Pierre: Your Mom won't share?
EAN: No.
Martina Pierre: Hurts her.
EAN: It's too much.
Martina Pierre: I felt dirty as a Indian all my life in residential school. Residential school taught us shame and guilt. So your Mom's still carrying that.
EAN: Nice pizza party, huh?
Martina Pierre: Nice pizza party.
shot of JBN, EAN driving at night, singing Neil Young song, Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were
EAN: It's not as easy as I thought it would be, because you're like totally rejected, you know.
JBN: You mean by your Mom?
EAN: Yeah. Yeah. And then I spend the rest of my life trying to, I'm trying to, I'm trying to earn that love, you know.
JBN: I can relate to that. I remember when I told you that when you would leave, I would watch until your car
shot of EAN, JBN now on balcony of motel, Coast mountains in background, although conversation which started in car continues as though it had not been interrupted
About 1 hour 4 minutes
EAN: . . . was totally gone.
JBN: totally like out of sight, until the very last moment.
EAN: Yeah.
JBN: And you told me that you had the same, had the same thing.
EAN, emphatically: I do do the same thing. Whenever you leave, I watch until you're like totally out of sight. I used to cry every time I dropped you off at the airport.
JBN: Then how did it happen?
EAN: What?
JBN: I guess I just feel like I'm here trying to help you when you don't really fully recognize the thing that we share. Your story is someone who was abandoned, but also who abandoned.
EAN (sounding agitated): You're looking for some kind of acknowledgement from me.
JBN: No, I just feel like . . . actually, 'Yeah'.
EAN: Well, tell me what you want. I'll write it, whatever you want, you know. It's just, like, I didn't leave you, son.
JBN: Yeah, you did.
EAN: What was I supposed to do when I was lost in a fuckin' drunk, just going like a madman. At the time that I told your Mom, I don't know what the hell is wrong, I'm cryin' my fuckin' eyes out every day, every day, and I don't know why. [sighing, voice breaking] That's what I said to her.
shot of JBN head down, crying, going into bathroom, closing door, saying (presumably to film crew): I don't want you guys to see that because . . . .
About 1:06:15
shot of rooftops in Rome
FACT CHECK:
-the filming here jumps back in time from JBN and EAN's summer road trip in 2022 to Rick Gilbert's trip to Rome in the spring of 2022 to hear the Papal apology (28 March - 1 April 2022)
church bells tolling, voice of female announcer: A group of Indigenous people from across the country is making history with a journey to Vatican City for meetings with Pope Francis to talk about reconciliation.
shot of Rick Gilbert opening curtains in hotel room
voice of another female announcer: When they meet with Pope Francis, Indigenous delegates will be sharing first-hand accounts of the impact of the residential school system, and there has been no firm commitment that the visit would include an apology. Delegates on their way here hope that will change after this trip.
shot of media meeting outdoors with church official, shots of Rick Gilbert in crowd, walking through Rome at night, looking at cowboy boots in shop window, shots of Rome tourist sights lit up at night
shot of Rick Gilbert back in hotel room phoning wife Anna, showing her a large charcoal drawing of himself
Rick Gilbert: It's almost midnight here. What time you got?
Anna Gilbert: It's only 2:48.
Rick Gilbert: Can you see it?
Anna Gilbert: Oh my. I see it.
Rick Gilbert: I look like Mussolini.
Anna Gilbert: I don't think, I don't think from here it looks like you.
Rick Gilbert: You don't think it does?
Anna Gilbert: Looks like maybe your Dad. If you had a Dad, that's what he would look like, maybe.
Rick Gilbert: Ah, oh well. And I bought a few other things. Can you see it? [showing a bobble head image of a pope]
Anna Gilbert. Alright. I see. Well, that's good, hon. Get lots of rest so you'll be on your A-game.
FACT CHECK:
-in Sugarcane, Anna Gilbert is the driving force behind Rick Gilbert's decision to claim, on no evidence whatever, to Father Louis Lougen in Rome (see below) that he (Rick Gilbert) was fathered by Father James Michael McGrath (1909-1986), principal at St Joseph's Indian Residential School in Williams Lake from 1942-1946
About 1:08:00
shots of Rick Gilbert on large bus driving past Coliseum in Rome to an undisclosed destination
staged conversation between Rick Gilbert and Tanya Stump and Eleanor Nooski, two other delegates brought by Catholic Bishops to Rome for the Pope's apology; conversation very difficult to hear in parts, and obviously spliced as Tanya Stump asks Rick Gilbert how old he was when he went to the Mission without having been told he went there, bus which was driving through Rome is suddenly on a freeway, and Eleanor Nooski is abruptly part of a conversation she wasn't part of earlier
Tanya Stump: Where you, where you from?
Rick Gilbert: [unintelligible]
Tanya Stump: Oh, I'm Tanya Stump.
Rick Gilbert: Oh, hi Tanya.
Tanya Stump: Hi.
Rick Gilbert: You must have grown up up north, then?
Tanya Stump: That's right. Nautley, by Fraser Lake. How old were you when you went to the Mission?
Rick Gilbert: I was still five years old yet when I first went. My birthday's in October, so I, I turned six over there.
FACT CHECK:
-Rick Gilbert was born 11 October 1946, so he would have turned 6 on 11 October 1952; the extant quarterly returns for 1952 do not show Rick Gilbert on the St Joseph's register, and he was thus not at St Joseph's when he says he was; moreover there would have had to be special circumstances for Rick Gilbert to be admitted at five as the age of admission under the Indian Act was seven
Tanya Stump: [church? unintelligible]
shot of bus driving through the rain to an undisclosed location
Rick Gilbert: Yeah. Are they doing some searches there too, no?
Eleanor Nooski: Yeah, and also there's a thing about the four boys that froze to death.
Tanya Stump: Yeah, trying to get away. And they were very young. They ranged from about eight years old to ten years old.
Eleanor Nooski: Father McGrath was the principal.
FACT CHECK:
-this staged conversation tars Father McGrath with guilt by association by bringing up an entirely unrelated incident at the Lejac Indian Residential School in northern BC to reinforce the false claim that Father McGrath fathered Rick Gilbert at the St Joseph's Indian Residential School in Williams Lake (which, as noted earlier, is based on nothing more than an unreliable Ancestry DNA test which cannot determine paternity) and, as noted earlier, Rick Gilbert's mother, Agatha (nee Thomas) Gilbert, had been discharged from St Joseph Indian Residential School in Williams Lake for two years prior to Rick Gilbert's birth, and was already married to Rick Gilbert's legal father, Edward George Gilbert, when Rick was born
-the four boys who froze to death while crossing Fraser Lake weren't trying to run away from the Lejac Indian Residential School; a Department of Indian Affairs inquiry revealed they were trying to get home to visit their parents, who hadn't come to the Lejac Indian Residential School for a New Year's visit like other parents; Father McGrath was away from the school that day, and staff members did not instigate a search as they mistakenly thought the boys had gotten permission from the Bishop to leave
shot of Rick Gilbert looking disturbed
screen blacks out
shot of car going through tunnel in Fraser Canyon, apparently heading south towards Vancouver, although next shot is of a road near Canim Lake in the Cariboo region of British Columbia
JBN: Don't hold your breath in the tunnels, man. I always did it when I was a kid.
shot of car driving on Canim Lake Indian Reserve
EAN: This place here on the left is where I grew up. We never had any running water. When I ran away from school I would go into the bush back over that way. Crazy thing is, I don't think anybody was fuckin' lookin' for me, you know. It's a good thing I got as far away from the damn rez as I could.
shot of rain on windshield
About 1:11:02
shot of Laird Archie's house on reserve with two pickup trucks outside
EAN: My hands are sweaty, Mom's spaghetti [paraphrase of Eminem's Lose Yourself]
EAN: Laird is pretty fuckin' scary, you know. This is a guy that kicked in my cheekbone, with the help of two other guys. I know he's not gonna beat me up this time, so [sighing]
Laird Archie, inside his house: I, I know your story because it was all over the reserve, right?
EAN: What?
Laird Archie: They call you garbage can kid and everything like that. And your Mom put you in a garbage bin, eh?
EAN: Um hmm.
[title on screen]
LAIRD ARCHIE
SURVIVOR, ST JOSEPH'S MISSION
Laird Archie: . . . in residential school. But there was a connection between us because of the fact that nobody seemed to want us when we were little. My mother didn't want me because I was white, so in front of the bar she gave me away, six months old, to this family that was severely alcoholic, and the mother beat me severely, over and over, for years she beat me. So, and that's why I have a close connection with Edwin, cause nobody in the reserve accepted us. We grew up the same, like everybody laughed at us, everybody made fun of us. And I remember what happened on the reserve, like my Dad rapin' his own kids, eh, and I'm listenin' to it at night. I lived in this adopted family. They had eleven kids. Seven of 'em committed suicide.
FACT CHECK:
-Laird Archie refers to EAN by his legal first name, Edwin
-alcohol-related violence, abuse and suicide on the Canim Lake reserve were common at the time, as evidenced by BC death certificates from the period
EAN: And you were at St Joseph's?
Laird Archie: Yeah. Yeah. And I remember those priests. I remember what they done. You go to confession because you had to go to confession once a week. So I'm, I'm six years old, eh? I go to confession, that same fuckin' priest's dragging me out of bed.
shots of strong wind blowing through trees, waves on Canim Lake(?), EAN and JBN going into lake for a brief swim
About 1:13: 58
shot of exterior of Royal Canadian Mounted Police office [near Vancouver?]
unidentified RCMP officer: You know, to be clear, the RCMP doesn't do this. Um, we don't allow, you know, civilians, if you will, to look at our files and potentially take things away. It's not something that we do. But um, you know, if not now, when?
FACT CHECK:
-Charlene Belleau may have been granted permission to access RCMP records because she had earlier been native co-ordinator of an RCMP task force investigating residential schools; as well, her husband, Steve Belleau, was an RCMP officer (see transcript of Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples hearing 8 March 1993)
shot of Charlene Belleau making written notes from material on laptop computer
shot of an RCMP transcript
Whitney Spearing (reading from transcript): We were bringing out the garbage from the kitchen and we were told to stay away from the incinerator, and there was a shoebox and the cover flew off and inside this cover was a newborn baby.
Charlene Belleau: She seen the baby in a shoebox at the incinerator, but they don't do anything to follow up.
shot of RCMP officer looking concerned
FACT CHECK:
-Spearing deliberately omits to read question and answer which indicate 'evidence' is not only unverifiable, but also unreliable because of witness' age at the time of the alleged incident; Q: Okay. How old were you? A: Really small. Really small.
Charlene Belleau: These women are no longer alive. They couldn't live with what they'd been through.
FACT CHECK:
-'women' appears to be an exaggeration by Charlene Belleau (document of only a single 'witness', who was a very small child at the time, is shown from the RCMP files)
-no RCMP officer testifies in Sugarcane that the RCMP files Spearing and Belleau are looking at contain credible evidence that babies were thrown into the St Joseph's incinerator; it appears the extensive RCMP investigation found no verifiable evidence that infanticide occurred at St Joseph's
a list of RCMP files shown on screen
About 1:14:56
Whitney Spearing: OK it's, Charlene, there is a file called O'Connor Adoption Records.
Whitney Spearing (reading from a document not shown on screen): I never got no baby back, but I asked Father, Well what did you do with the baby? It was ten days later and I was back at the Mission, when he told me, He died. But I always questioned that, if he did really die or if he's still alive somewhere. Maybe he gave him up for adoption himself because he was my guardian.
FACT CHECK:
-no name or context provided by which what Spearing is reading could be verified
shot of part of a document with headings 'RCMP GRC, Continuation Report, Father O'Connor, Sexual Assault'; context deliberately unclear as only a single sentence fragment is shown on screen: 'identify students from the school who became pregnant and were sent to Vancouver to have their children'
Charlene Belleau: He [Father Hubert O'Connor] clearly set it all up, made arrangements for them to go. He knew what it was gonna cost, he knew how long they'd be down there. But I think the Children's Aid Society, too, was run by the Catholic Church. They were all a part of a system.
FACT CHECK:
-Charlene Belleau's finger is shown on screen pointing to a document which appears to be entirely unrelated as it refers to the apprehension of a child, not a pregnancy
-no evidence provided that Father O'Connor made 'arrangements', or that the Children's Aid Society was involved with such 'arrangements'
-Charlene Belleau's claim that pregnant girls were sent to Vancouver from St Joseph's to have their babies and that the babies were adopted directly contradicts Sugarcane's claim that Charlene Belleau's so-called 'investigation' had uncovered 'a pattern of infanticide' in which the babies thrown into the school's incinerator
About 1:15:42
photos on screen of Indian children being placed for adoption, ads with titles 'A Home For Me?', 'Handsome', 'Parents For Me', 'Togetherness Counts A Lot', 'We Would Like To Know'
voice of male radio announcer: Unwanted Indian children. They are the products of a sudden and sharp rise in illegitimate births and marriage breakdowns among Indian people. Until twelve months ago, they were becoming wards of the government at the rate of almost 200 a year, and adoption agencies were finding them almost impossible to find permanent homes for.
FACT CHECK:
-although this adoption sequence has nothing to do with Charlene Belleau's so-called 'investigation' at Williams Lake, it does identify the real cause of the sharp increase in the number of Indian children being put up for adoption in British Columbia at the time, i.e. the rise in illegitimate births to Indian girls and women of children fathered by Indian fathers, and of children left stranded by Indian marriage breakups
shots of children exiting Williams Lake First Nations school bus, Willie Sellars and his children about to exit Band Administration building to attend press conference with Prime Minister Trudeau, shots of journalists [including Monica Lamb-Yorski of Williams Lake Tribune?], children from Little Chiefs Primary and Daycare shown drumming
[title on screen]
JUSTIN TRUDEAU
PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA
shot of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking, flanked by Chief Willie Sellars, AFN Grand Chief RoseAnne Archibald, Crown-Indigenous Affairs Minister Marc Miller, and Jean William(?) who was shown earlier with Charlene Belleau at Chief Willie Sellars' presentation on 25 January 2022 (see above)
Prime Minister Trudeau: This is our history as a country, and until we properly grasp it, and engage with it, understand it, and commit ourselves to better, then we're not living up to the kind of country we all like to think we are. We have work to do. [continues in French]
shot of Chief RoseAnne Archibald speaking privately to Chief Willie Sellars
shot of Charlene Belleau looking serious
unidentified male journalist: Can you tell us why this visit is coinciding with the Vatican visit? I mean some critics are saying that you're just, you know, using this as a photo op to align with the Vatican visit. Why, why, what's your counter-argument? Why do you feel like that's not the case?
Prime Minister Trudeau: I'm here because Willie invited me because this is a moment where community is grieving. I wish I could have been here months ago. I'm able to get here now.
About 1:18:00
shots of buildings in Rome
shots of Rick Gilbert dressing in embroidered buckskin vest, wearing medallion labelled 'Courage'
shot of Rick Gilbert in large bus passing Coliseum
shots of Rick Gilbert attending Pope Francis' apology for Canada's Indian residential schools
Pope speaks in Italian, finishes in English: God bless you all, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Pray for me. Don't forget. I pray for you. Thank you very much for your visit. Bye, bye.
FACT CHECK:
-unclear whether Sugarcane had permission to film Papal apology
shot of Rick Gilbert in bus listening to news report of Papal apology
voice of male interviewer: Did the Pope confirm anything, an apology, turning over the records, compensation, returning artifacts. Was anything confirmed today?
male interviewee: There was no indication, however our delegation [unintelligible]
shot of Rick Gilbert in a church in Rome looking up at an image of Jesus on the Cross
About 1:20:49
shots of exterior of building, sign Oblati di Maria Immacolata on wall, Rick Gilbert ringing bell, entering, walking down hallway with Father Louis Lougen, Superior General of Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Rick Gilbert: I just wanted to talk to you a little bit about St. Joseph's Mission. It was run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and um the priests were considered next to God. At the same time, others [i.e. Indian children] considered savages.
Father Louis Lougen: Totally wrong. It's
[title on screen]
LOUIS LOUGEN
SUPERIOR GENERAL,
THE MISSIONARY OBLATES OF MARY IMMACULATE
Rick Gilbert: Yes. When this one priest would come in the dorm to molest little kids, the brother who was our supervisor, he saw what was going on. He did nothing about it. And one of the worst things about it is when a bad priest was found out and reported, he just got moved to another parish, another residential school, and it continued on and on, you know. And before then we had no voice. We couldn't report to the police.
FACT CHECK:
-this is contradicted in Sugarcane by Rosalin Sam, who says she did report abuse by a priest to the RCMP
Father Lougen: No, it was, society wouldn't allow that.
Rick Gilbert: That's right.
Father Lougen: In those days it was thought that a priest or a brother who does wrong should be sent away, make a retreat, pray, go to confession, and change his life. After the 80s, I think, you know, the churches accepted more psychology, and began to understand, well, people with mental illness need to be removed from ministry. And it wasn't right, and it's a terrible, tragic hundred years. You say three generations, maybe four.
Rick Gilbert: It's probably four for me.
Father Lougen: Yeah.
Rick Gilbert: My grandmother, she was abused at the Mission and she tried to run away. I was also abused by a priest at the residential school. And I, I kept that a secret for about 30 years after I left. And my mother was abused by a priest, and that's how I was born.
FACT CHECK:
-Rick Gilbert notably fails to claim in this interview with Father Lougen (or in fact at all in Sugarcane) that babies were thrown into the St Joseph's incinerator (because it never happened)
-prior to this interview with Father Lougen, Rick Gilbert is never known to have claimed that his grandmother, Clothilde Tillian, was abused at St Joseph's, nor is Clothilde Tillian ever known to have claimed she was abused at St Joseph's
-prior to this interview with Father Lougen, Rick Gilbert is never known to have claimed that he was sexually abused at St Joseph's
-Rick Gilbert's mother, Agatha (nee Thomas) Gilbert (1928-1965), was discharged from St Joseph's at age 16 in 1944, two years before Rick Gilbert was born on 11 October 1946. Agatha Gilbert had nine children by five different men, at least two of whom were white; no proof whatsoever is offered in Sugarcane that Rick Gilbert was fathered by a priest, and there is not the slightest reason to think that he was fathered by a priest since his mother was 18 when she gave birth to Rick, and was already married to Rick Gilbert's legal father, Edward George Gilbert (1912-1977)
Father Lougen: I'm so sorry. It can't be justified, but it's a sickness that grew into the church, and your forgiveness of us some day, you know, some day, it can't be a quick, is what we need to be healed, you know. I mean it's a mutual search for
Rick Gilbert: One of the parts of the Bible states that being sorry for something is just the first step. You have to
Father Lougen: Work it out
Rick Gilbert: . . . take action and
Father Lougen: Mm hmm.
Rick Gilbert: We've heard apologies, but still nothing has happened really.
shot of Rick Gilbert and Father Lougen walking out, saying goodbye
Rick Gilbert: [unintelligible] and I'm putting all my faith and trust in you.
Father Lougen: In God alone, huh. I'll do what I can but, you know. Thank you. I'm honoured that you would come. Thank you so much. [ ] hold your story.
shot of Rick Gilbert leaving
shot of circular staircase in Vatican, Rick taking audio tour, viewing artifacts from countries around the world
About 1:26:41
shots of Indian riders galloping into Williams Lake Stampede grounds, man on bucking bronco being released from chute, rodeo riders taping arms, EAN sitting pensively alone, brahma bull and rider being released from chute
shot of EAN and JBN on hill overlooking Williams Lake sharing a toke
shot of sign advertising Elders Dance, interior shots of Indian people of all ages inside dancing, talking, including Rick Gilbert
shots of exterior of Williams Lake Tribune office, newspaper being run off
shot of Charlene Belleau and Whitney Spearing looking at files of old newspapers
Whitney Spearing (pretending to find article for first time): Charlene, this says 'New-born babe saved from the garbage burner on the night of August 16th, 1959.
shot of part of news article on screen, Charlene Belleau (pretending to see article for first time) reading and paraphrasing aloud: A new-born babe was found abandoned in a garbage burner at the Cariboo Residential School. Discovery of the baby made by the dairyman at the Mission. He heard a noise which was, at first the dairyman took to be a cat. He investigated with a flashlight and looking in the garbage burner found the newly-born baby in an ice-cream carton which had been used as a wastebasket. As mother of the child was not known at the time it was simply classified as Baby X. Mother of the child pleaded guilty to a charge of abandoning her baby and was sentenced to one year in jail.
shot of that part of the article
FACT CHECK:
-since Charlene Belleau is related to Antoinette Archie, the woman who put her newborn in the garbage burner, and both are members of the Canim Lake Band, Charlene Belleau obviously knew the entire story long ago as it was known throughout the area (see comments by Jean Williams, Laird Archie above)
-Antoinette Archie appealed the sentence of a year's imprisonment, but the appeal was denied
shot of JBN holding photocopy of the news article with EAN beside him, JBN reading aloud, EAN looking anguished: Uh, it says the Williams Lake Tribune, September 28th, 1959. New-born Babe Saved From Garbage Burner. A new-born babe was found abandoned in a garbage burner at the Cariboo Residential School late on the night of August [voice fades out]
About 1:30:00
shot of exterior of Williams Lake Band Administration Office
[title on screen]
WESLEY JACKSON,
WITNESS
Wesley Jackson, appearing disheveled: All my life everyone said I was lying. And then I started havin' nightmares again, but I wasn't too sure what it was about. The priest sent me into the Mission. He would get me to clean out the ashes out of the furnace and carry 'em down.
shot of Wesley Jackson making a rough drawing of a few circles
Wesley Jackson: This is where he got me to dig holes. He told me he was dumpin' garbage in it. There was bits of bone and other stuff in it.
shot of Charlene Belleau and Whitney Spearing listening intently to Wesley Jackson, Jackson slumped down with closed eyes as if overwhelmed
Charlene Belleau: I'm glad you're here today, you know, so you can leave that here with us.
FACT CHECK:
-pointless interview; no evidence whatever provided of anything nefarious; garbage from school's kitchen would obviously contain bits of bone
About 1:31:32
shot of Charlene Belleau, Whitney Spearing, an unidentified RCMP officer and three other people taking Cecilia Paul in a wheelchair out onto a field in winter, part of old St Joseph's Indian Residential School grounds
[title on screen]
CECILIA PAUL
SURVIVOR, ST. JOSEPH'S MISSION
Charlene Belleau: Where, where was it that you saw them bury, bury the boy? Where, where was it? Here? [pointing]
shot of Cecilia Paul pointing into the distance, everyone looking in that direction
Cecilia Paul: Little girl. It was on, went for a walk, that's when [pointing in a different direction] and I got the strap. That's why I couldn't walk. It was a little girl.
Whitney Spearing, echoing Cecilia Paul: Little girl.
FACT CHECK:
-Charlene Belleau came to the field under the misapprehension that Cecilia Paul could point out where she saw a boy buried; instead, in an incoherent account in the field Cecilia Paul says it was a little girl, and can only identify the location by pointing vaguely in the distance; moreover Paul claims she is wheelchair-bound because she got the strap at school (a routine punishment at the time in which the palms of the hands were hit with a leather strap)
-Cecilia Paul may be the sister of Cyril Paul who shot himself at age 47 after testifying at Charlene Belleau's 1997 Alkali Lake Residential School Inquiry (see above)
shot of unidentified RCMP officer looking concerned
shots of Charlene Belleau hugging Cecilia Paul, RCMP officer kneeling down beside Cecilia Paul
unidentified RCMP officer: You are so brave. So this is the spot that you were talking to me about, huh, over here, right here? [pointing in yet another direction]
Cecilia Paul: Yeah.
unidentified RCMP officer: Thanks for sharing, OK. We love you.
shot of unidentified RCMP officer wheeling Cecilia Paul off the field
shot of Charlene Belleau going back into field to where Whitney Spearing is standing, embracing her, Spearing apparently crying
About 1:33:12
shot of Chief Willie Sellars, Charlene Belleau, Whitney Spearing looking pensive, staring at bulletin board with headings in centre of board 'YEAR', 'NAME', 'COD Cause of Death', 'Burial', and names underneath
1902, Duncan Sticks, runaway, exposure, freezing, Alkali(?)
1910 Eulalie Julian, unknown, unknown
Early 1900s, Jane Doe, drowning, Mission (Phase 2)
1920, Augustine Allen, suicide pact, Mission
1931, Alex Boyd, unknown, Mission
1939, Patrick Char, pneumonia, Mission
heading at left: 'STUDENT DEATHS, CURRENT TOTAL: 55'
FACT CHECK:
-for Patrick Char, see these facts, which are suppressed in Sugarcane:
Patrick Chah* (1939/1/20), Register #226; 13 yrs old; Alexis Creek Band; born Alexis Creek Indian Reserve; parents Luceese Char, Margaret Charley, both born Alexis Creek Indian Reserve; d. War Memorial Hospital, Williams Lake; pneumonia; death certificate signed by Indian Agent (informant Reverend J. Hennessy, OMI, St Joseph’s Mission), and doctor; buried St Joseph’s Mission, 150 Mile House; DIA inquiry (see LAC c-8764, pp. 951-6) [NB: death certificate states birth registration name was Patrick Char] [NB: doctor’s statement at DIA inquiry: ‘Mr O’Sullivan the school disciplinarian deserves commendation for the prompt attention given to this pupil and for the personal care he gave him until the doctor arrived.’] [NB: Indian Agent’s statement at DIA inquiry: ‘The parents were not present at the enquiry. Efforts were made to notify them by telegraph but they are up in the hills 125 miles distant and may not be within reach of notification for a long time.’]
shot of another section of bulletin board with names of Oblate priests and brothers who were at St Joseph's, and lines of red wool linking the priests' and brothers' names to other items on bulletin board:
1940s
FATHER JAMES MCGRATH, PRINCIPAL
FATHER MORRIS, PRINCIPAL
1950s
FATHER DUCIE
FATHER COLLINS
FATHER SHEA, PRINCIPAL
BROTHER GIRARD
voice of Charlene Belleau: Every principal from the time the place opened to when it closed all knew that this stuff was happening [pointing to bulletin board], so all of those principals were involved in some way with the disappearance, the death, with the babies being born
FACT CHECK:
-no proof whatever offered in Sugarcane of any disappearances, or of deaths not properly accounted for in official documents, or of babies being born at the school other than Antoinette Archie's son, EAN, whom Antoinette Archie (Charlene Belleau's relative) put in the school's garbage burner
another shot of bulletin board with headings as follows:
'BABIES BORN' '(YELLOW DOT = ALIVE)'
'INCINERATOR', 'UNKNOWN', 'ADOPTIONS', 'PREGNANT MOTHERS' '(YELLOW DOT = ALIVE)' [see below for what is under each heading]
INCINERATOR
BABY X, 1959
BABY B1, 1959
BABY X, 1960s
BABY X, 1960s
BABY X, LATE 1960s
UNKNOWN
BABY X, EARLY 1960s
BABY A1, 1959
BABY X, LATE 1960s
BABY E
BABY X (survivor interview)
ADOPTIONS
BABY C, 1946
BABY D, 1963
BABY F, 1965
BABY G, 1965
BABY H, 1965
PREGNANT MOTHERS
MOTHER A, 1959 BIRTH
MOTHER B, 1959
MOTHER C, 1946
MOTHER D, 1963
MOTHER E
MOTHER J, 1967
OUR LADY OF MERCY HOME
FACT CHECK:
-no babies or mothers identified; nothing on bulletin verified
close-up shot of photo labelled 'Services Wing and Incinerator' from Department of Indian Affairs school narrative for St Joseph's (see page 770)
FACT CHECK:
-photo is excerpted from a file on St. Joseph's prepared by the Department of Indian Affairs, available to the public on the University of Manitoba's NCTR Archives website
distance shot of entire bulletin board
Charlene Belleau: Did they think we'd be stupid all of our lives, the rest of our lives, and nobody would ever find out these things?
FACT CHECK:
-as the foregoing extensive fact check shows, Belleau's so-called three year investigation paid for by Canadian taxpayers found nothing - no verifiable evidence of a single missing child, unmarked burial, or incinerated baby
shot of Charlene Belleau staring at bulletin board, shot of Chief Willie Sellars sitting staring at bulletin board
About 1:34:23
shot (in summer) of Rick and Anna Gilbert at cemetery near statue of Virgin Mary and Child, old barn in background, Rick with shovel, Anna on riding mower
Anna Gilbert: Hey babe? I'm gonna cut low.
Rick Gilbert: Don't ask me. I don't know anything.
Anna Gilbert: OK.
shot of Rick shovelling sod off a flat grave marker, kneeling down to scrape dirt off cross in grave marker
Rick Gilbert: Now if I can get up.
voices of children in background saying the Hail Mary in unison (from The Eyes of Children)
video clip from The Eyes Of Children of spire of Kamloops Indian Residential School, Father Dunlop coming out of main door of the school, little girls running to greet him, holding on to him and walking with him in front of the school, more children running to greet him
[title on screen]
THE EYES OF CHILDREN (1962)
CBC DOCUMENTARY
FACT CHECK:
-although video clips of The Eyes Of Children are extensively used throughout Sugarcane, this is the sole acknowledgement of the source; however even then the fact that the documentary was made at a different school, the Kamloops Indian Residential School, is still withheld from viewers, who mistakenly think throughout Sugarcane they are watching scenes from the St Joseph's Indian Residential School
shots of children running beside hockey rink at Williams Lake reserve, boys climbing shipping container(?), Immaculate Conception church in background
shot showing layout of reserve, Williams Lake, town in distance
About 1:36:40
shots of water flowing swiftly in Fraser River, Willie Sellars dip-netting, depositing fish on rocks on shore, cleaning fish, his daughter watching, taking a piece of the fish guts in her hand
FACT CHECK:
-Chief Willie Sellars wrote a children's book entitled Dipnetting With Dad
Willie Sellars' daughter: So I should put this in the water?
Willie Sellars: Yes, please.
shot of Willie Sellars' sons dip-netting, voice singing in background
About 1:37:55
shot of exterior of Antoinette Archie's house in Canim Lake in early morning, EAN and JBN knocking, entering, camera crew remain outside
EAN: Hello. Mom?
JBN: Kye7e?
EAN: Good morning, Mom.
Antoinette Archie: Mornin'.
FACT CHECK:
-Antoinette Archie is not identified by name in Sugarcane, even in this culminating scene
JBN: [speaks in Secwepemctsin]
EAN: Here, we brought you some Timmies, special.
JBN: And some, how do you say 'tobacco' in Shuswap?
Antoinette Archie: [says Shuswap word]
EAN: So Mom, we're on this journey, just tryin' to heal, so we just wanted to come and sit with you, I guess. I just, I mean there's just, I mean there's one [deep sigh] gap in my existence as a baby, and I think that if, if I were to know that I would, I could find some peace.
Antoinette Archie: I don't like to talk about it. [voice breaking] I went through a lot with it.
EAN: Mom.
Antoinette Archie sobbing, saying: It sticks with me all the time. I just wonder how, why I am still here yet, and I pray all the time, you know, for things that I
EAN: Mom, we love you. I love you so much. I love you.
[microphone is shut off; unclear whether more was said that was not revealed in Sugarcane]
sun is now up, shots of JBN and EAN driving, holding hands
car passes cemetery, statute of Virgin and Child, old barn
EAN and JBN walk into field, presumably to where former St Joseph's school building was located, EAN kneels, JBN brushes EAN's back and hair with an eagle feather, holds feather in place on EAN's head, JBN shakes rattle, chanting in background
screen goes dark, chanting continues, statements appear on screen
Hundreds of thousands of children attended Indian schools across North America.
There were 139 federally funded schools in Canada and 408 in the United States.
The last one closed in 1997.
The ongoing investigation at St. Joseph's Mission has uncovered a pattern of infanticide.
Ed Archie NoiseCat is the only known survivor of the school's incinerator.
Indigenous peoples are still dying from residential schools.
And still living, despite them.
Dedicated to all the children who were sent to St. Joseph's Mission from the nations and communities of: [long list]
In loving memory of Chief Rick Gilbert
shot of Rick Gilbert holding his violin
[credits follow]
Directed by
Julian Brave NoiseCat
Emily Kassie
Produced by
Emily Kassie
Kellen Quinn
Director of Photograph
Christopher LaMarca
Cinematography by
Emily Kassie
Edited by
Nathan Punwar
Maya Daisy Hawke
Music by
Mali Obamsawin
Re-Recording Mixer
Martin Czembor
Supervising Sound Editor
Andrea Bella
Executive Producers
Lily Gladstone
Carolyn Bernstein
Executive Producers
Bill Way
Elliott Whitton
Jenny Raskin
Geralyn White Dreyfous
Executive Producers
Tegan Acton
Emma Pompetti
Grace Lay
Sumalec Montano
Executive Producers
Sabrina Merage Naim
Douglas Choi
Adam & Melony Louis
Meadow Fund
Executive Producers
JanaLee Cherneski & Ian Desai
David & Linda Cornfield
Maida Lynn
Robina Ricitiello
Nina & David Fialkow
Co-Executive Producers
Kelsey Koenig
Lauren Haber
Meryl Metni
Jennifer Pelling
Contributing Producer
Marni E.J. Grossman
WITH
Liard Archie
Larry Emile
Anna Gilbert
Wesley Jackson
Kye7e
Cecilia Paul
Martina Pierre
Rosalin Sam
Whitney Spearing
Jean William
AND
David Michael Archie Phil Sam
Denise Archie Lindsay Sam
Adrian Chelsea Martin Sam
Levi Johnson Nancy Sandy
Nathan Johnson Lewis Sellars
Francis Johnson, Jr. Milah Sellars
Tyler Martin Carla Sellars
Leo Michel Cash Sellars
Jayleen Michell Eric Stubbs
Kevin Neufeld Tanya Stump
Eleanor Nooski Kris Wycotte, Jr.
Ron Palta
Co-Producer
Christopher LaMarca
Impact Producers
Jade Begay
Amber Morning Star Byers
Eliza Licht
Alice Quinlan
Additional Cinematography
Justin Zweifach
Mo Scarpelli
Jarred Alterman
Nick Ramey
Spencer Chumbley
Aerial Cinematographer
Nick Ramey
Drone Operator
Josef Perszon
Production Sound
Christopher LaMarca
Emily Kassie
Additional Sound
Jes Mathieson
Consulting Editors
Katrina Taylor
David Teague
Todd Chandler
Additional Editing
Emily Kassie
Assistant Editor
Kayla Hashimoto
Fact-checked as of 24 January 2025
Thanks for reading. For more from this author, read Why did the Williams Lake Band, in its documentary Sugarcane, suppress crucial facts about Antoinette Archie?
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Incredible research. The only problem is that only independent researchers, like Nina Green, are doing it. Where are our historians, senior journalists,etc? Why aren’t CBC and the Globe and Mail doing investigations on these indigenous claims? The answer is simple - they choose not to. Instead, CBC “reporters” promote these false stories. G&M employ activists, like Talaga, to deliberately misinform Canadians about “knowings” etc. Cabinet ministers, like Marc Miller, actually try to prevent researchers, like Green, from telling the truth. Canadians are being lied to with the full complicity of the government, CBC and most of the mainstream news media. Thanks for doing this, Nina Green. We are in a sad place when our own leaders and media promote lies.
Many Thanks to Nina Green for the incredible effort in exposing the Lie and Manipulation that Sugarcane is.