September 30, 2026 (TORONTO): Today marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honor the survivors of Canada’s residential school system and educate the public on the painful history, ongoing trauma, and cultural destruction this system caused. Unfortunately, despite the immense amount of research and scholarship produced, there is a growing body of denialists in Canada who attempt to minimize the harms done by the residential school system.

The Zoryan Institute’s former Academic Chair, and a pioneering scholar in genocide denial, Prof. Roger W. Smith, defines genocide denial as the following:

“Denial is a matter of reinterpreting and re-appraising events through a kind of selective, positive emphasis. Whether as lie or as defense mechanism, it seeks to avoid external threats, to defend the perpetrator’s self-image, to reject and dehumanize the victims, and to justify the genocide. Thus, denial involves not just the refusal of facts but also the more active strategies of rationalization, projection, and justification.”  – Roger W. Smith, Genocide Studies International (Vol. 8, No. 1)

This past month, a new volume, Truth Before Reconciliation: Confronting Residential School Denialism, was published featuring papers from Survivors, archeologists, educators and scholars, including Zoryan Institute Academic Board Member, Prof. Andrew Woolford, and its GHRUP alumnus and Scholar’s Corner Editor, Reid Gerbrandt. The book analyzes the upsurge in denialism of Canada’s residential school system and the harm that this denial inflicts on Indigenous communities and survivors.

In his chapter of the book, Identifying the Techniques of Settler Colonial Genocide Denialism, Prof.  Andrew Woolford highlights techniques of neutralization in residential schools’ genocide denialism, including denial of responsibility, denial of inquiry, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, appeal to higher loyalties and denialism through definitionalis. He states:

“…denialists remain set in seeing the world through the lens of the so-called Indian problem. They neutralize accusation against Canada and the Churches and seek to make the issue one of Indigenous Peoples lacking something or not fitting into the dominant society.” (page 195, Woolford)

We commend Prof. Andrew Woolford and Reid Gerbrandt, along with the editors and other contributors, on this latest publication and for bringing this important subject to light.

Through its continued commitment to rigorous scholarship, education, and public dialogue, the Zoryan Institute will continue to confront denial, amplify historically grounded research, and contribute to a deeper understanding of Canada’s residential school system and the ongoing pursuit of truth and reconciliation.