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Thousands gathered in Calgary on Canada Day to honour residential school victims

Last Updated Jul 1, 2021 at 6:49 pm MDT

People attending the "Remember our Children" vigil hung this flag in Prince's Island Park (PHOTO Devon Banfield 660 News)

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – This Canada Day hundreds of people from Calgary gathered at Prince’s Island Park for the ‘Remember our Children Vigil’, honouring the children who were died at residential schools across Canada.

Over the last month, the remains of more than a thousand children have been discovered at former residential school sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

The ‘Remember Our Children Vigil’ took place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and featured speeches from several members of the Indigenous community, dancing, singing, and a moment of silence.

 

 

Day School survivor Doreen Spence (PHOTO Devon Banfield, 660 News)

One of the performers was Curt Young. He said there are many reasons he wanted to take part in the vigil.

“Both of my parents went to residential schools. My father directly is from Cowessess First Nation. My mother is from Gordon First Nation, where there was still a residential school open in 1995,” Young explained.

This is just the beginning, these numbers come from the small number of schools we’ve already searched. They’re going to find a lot more,” Young added.

Heather Morjo attended the event. She is of Cree, Metis, and Ktunaxa ancestry.

“In order for us to come together and heal, we need to come together and recognize the truth of the past,” Morjo said.

“We’re all called upon to honour our ancestors, to honour the legacies and to recognize what they were,” she added.

Performers at the “Remember our Children” vigil (PHOTO Devon Banfield, 660 News)

 

Also in attendance was Trisha. She is Denesųłiné from Cold Lake on Treaty Six.

“My mom is a survivor, she went to Blue Quills Residential School in Northern Alberta for 11 years,” Trisha explained.

LISTEN: 660’s Devon Banfield reports from Prince’s Island Park

 

She said that people need to understand that not only did these atrocities happen, but they happened recently.

“Mayor Nenshi made a good point. When the show Friends started there were still operating residential schools,” she explained.

In a statement this morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to be honest with themselves about the history of Canada.

“In order to chart a new and better path forward, we need to recognize the terrible mistakes of our past,” The Prime Minister said during a video address to mark Canada Day.

“The truth is we have a long way to go to make things right with Indigenous Peoples. But if we all pledge ourselves to doing the work, we can achieve reconciliation,” Trudeau added.

 

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Flags were lowered to half-mast at many government buildings, including the Peace Tower in Ottawa, to honour the lives lost.

Canada operated 130 residential schools from the late 1800’s to 1996. During this time approximately 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to these institutions, some of them never to return.

Reconciliation Canada reports that approximately 150,000 Métis, First Nations, and Inuit children were taken from their families, to residential schools. Many never returned home.