Town council, staff, school children, election candidates and residents all braved the cold to officially open an orange crosswalk in Glen Williams today (Oct. 17). The intersection, located at Main and Confederation streets, honours the Indigenous children who attended residential schools.
“I feel that a lot Canadians only have partial bits of the story,” said Eddy Robinson, Halton Region’s Indigenous Advisor who spoke at the crosswalk inauguration and sang a traditional song. “So there is a journey that they can take in terms of education and informing themselves. The first thing I always tell people is to start with the 94 Calls to Action."
The federal government’s Truth and Reconciliation report was released in 2015. In response to testimony from residential school survivors, it prescribed 94 Calls to Action along the lines of justice, education and sports, among others for the country.
Gimaa Stacey Laforme, the elected Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, implored the 50 or so students who were present to do what he couldn’t.
“What I want to say to the youth is that when I was young, I'd have been too afraid to dress like this. Too afraid of what I thought others would say,” he said while displaying his traditional shirt.
“But the truth is, we should never have to choose to fit into society. The world around us should adapt to embrace our uniqueness.”
The Town painted the crosswalk for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30th.
“The horrific legacy of the residential schools system continues to impact survivors, families and the communities today," said Mayor Rick Bonnette. "It is my hope that this crosswalk here will be a visual reminder to residents that we live in the treaty lands and territories.”