Sunday morning, on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc reserve just east of Kamloops, B.C.: roughly thirty men, standing together, white face masks up, black caps down, flags hoisted over their shoulders. That is the report the nation’s leadership says came in — and Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir did not mince words about who she believes came calling.

In a press release, Casimir said “individuals associated with Second Sons Canada, a group linked to white supremacist and white nationalist ideology, have been seen and documented within our community.” Images circulating on social media appear to show Second Sons logos on flags and clothing, though CBC News said it could not independently verify the men’s identities or affiliations. “White supremacy will not instill fear in generations of survivors and intergenerational survivors who have already carried fear for far too long,” Casimir said.

According to Casimir, the reserve’s security told the men they were not permitted to gather and asked them to leave. They did not leave. They stayed until the RCMP were called and arrived at the scene. CBC reached out to the RCMP — and to Second Sons Canada — and heard back from neither before publication.

The denunciations came in from across B.C.’s fractured political map. Premier David Eby, speaking at Vancouver International Airport on Sunday afternoon, said the province has seen a rise “in this kind of white nationalist behaviour” and that more must be done “to fight it.” “This is just disgraceful, disgusting behaviour. It’s very clear that these people were trying to intimidate, make people feel fearful,” the premier said, adding the masked men would face severe retribution if their identities were known.

Lorne Doerkson, interim leader of the B.C. Conservatives, called the gathering “hateful and meant to intimidate” in a social media post, saying it “has no place in British Columbia” and that the “B.C. Conservatives condemn it completely.” CentreBC Leader Elenore Sturko called it “abhorrent” and wrote: “Hate and discrimination of any kind are unwelcome in British Columbia and on behalf of all members of Centre BC, I condemn this behaviour and stand in solidarity with the Tkʼemlúps First Nation.”

The ground these men chose is not incidental. It was Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc that in May 2021 announced the discovery, by ground-penetrating radar of what CBC reported at the time as the remains of 215 children near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School — an announcement that convulsed the country and that, a 2023 report found, drew residential school denialists who tried to dig at the suspected gravesite itself.

Second Sons Canada, the group Casimir named, describes itself on its website as a “Canadian men’s nationalist club.” The Canadian Anti-Hate Network describes something else: a members-only outfit launched by far-right figures Jeremy MacKenzie and Alex Vriend, inspired by militant white nationalist groups abroad and the “Active Club” model. CBC News, in a visual investigation this summer, located the group’s annual “nationals” gathering in a small Alberta town and called Second Sons the country’s predominant white nationalist organization.

Which makes the timing almost too pointed. Tuesday is Sept. 30 — Truth and Reconciliation Day — and the nation’s events, Casimir said, will go ahead as planned. “We will not be intimidated,” she said. “This is not going to deter us from gathering, reflecting, or honouring our survivors and the children who returned home.”

But she framed the incident as a symptom, not an aberration. “Everyone should always be concerned because there’s so much racism and discrimination out there.” The nation, she said, will keep its members informed if further safety concerns arise. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line operates around the clock at 1-866-925-4419, and the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310.