Mayor Walt Cobb first shared the post on his private Facebook account, which he noted was separate from his mayoral account and not meant for public viewing.
The post reportedly claimed that Indigenous Canadians “just want to be victims,” and that they were using the bleak history of residential schools as a cash grab. The post also stated that most survivors of these schools had already “forgiven” what had gone on.
Cobb also added the caption, “I think we need to look at every side of everything,” in reference to the schools, before deleting the post from his account.
Cobb later apologized, but also blamed Indigenous groups for contacting the press about the incident instead of coming to him to talk about the issue.
“For those I offended, I apologize and I’m seriously sorry, very, very, sorry,” Cobb said in an interview with CBC News. “We could’ve probably solved a lot of problems, solved a lot of heartbreak, if the decision hadn’t been made to go to the press prior to even contacting me.”
“Anyway, it is what it is … hopefully, we can move on,” he continued.
Despite the apology, though, the leaders of the First Nation have continued to call for Cobb to step down.
“It’s very discouraging and disheartening and disappointing,” Williams Lake First Nation Chief Willie Sellars told CBC News. “We felt that was a very backhanded apology last night. It lacked substance and sincerity, and again we hear it in his interview this morning, blaming the Williams Lake First Nation for getting him into this uncomfortable situation.”
“We would love to see the mayor of Williams Lake step down from his position, to open up that space for somebody who is more open-minded,” Sellars continued.
Terry Teegee, the regional First Nations chief, also spoke out, stating that “I think, ultimately, it does come down to a willingness to understand and have empathy for Indigenous peoples … so I don’t know how many more chances that mayor will have … I don’t think people will tolerate this anymore.”
In place for over 100 years, residential schools were run by the Canadian government as boarding institutions for Indigenous groups. It has been estimated that over 150,000 Native students were forcibly placed into these schools throughout its history.
The government-run Truth and Reconciliation Commission referred to the implementation of these residential schools as “cultural genocide,” with the main purpose of the schools being to segregate Indigenous children and help assimilate them into the lifestyles of white Canadians.
The commission stated that children at these schools often endured physical and sexual abuse, as well as the trauma of being taken from their families. Many of these children would reportedly go on to suffer from PTSD and a variety of substance abuse issues.
Many deaths were also attributed to residential schools, with the number of children that perished currently estimated from 3,000 to 4,000. Hundreds of mass graves on the sites of these former schools have also been discovered.
In a statement obtained by Newsweek, the City of Williams Lake said that “[the city] remains committed to reconciliation efforts, and will continue to work toward relationship building, increased understanding and action in collaboration with our First Nations neighbours.”
(11/03/2021, 9 p.m. ET): This story has been updated with a statement from the City of Williams Lake.
