Staff photo
It was a sea of orange Thursday afternoon in front of the Highway 17 Government Building as area residents joined Canadians across the country to remember and recognize residential school victims and survivors.
A large group gathered in the extreme heat with signs and messages demanding change.
Elder Brenda Morrison from Eagle Lake First Nation opened the ceremony and said Canada Day is a sad day for all aboriginal people in Canada because of the latest discoveries of 1,505 bodies of children from residential school sites.
Morrison says, “We’re not celebrating July 1. It’s kind of like an honouring and commemorating with our children, and for the families and relatives and communities of these children that are being found across Canada.”
When it comes to what Indigenous peoples want to see from the government, Morrison says, “We want to see fairness, we want to see acknowledgement. ”
She says they want Canada declared a historically and continually “crime scene” if nobody does anything about it.
Morrison is hoping events like today become a start in reconciliation and a movement forward to have government take Indigenous peoples and rights more seriously.
Staff photo
Staff photo
Staff photo
Staff photo
