The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, held annually on Sept. 30, honours the survivors of residential schools and remembers the children who never came home.
Four years ago, locals Tina Jimmy and Cheryl Louie started a walk to commemorate the day, then known as Orange Shirt Day.
Year after year, more people from the Creston community joined the march down Highway 21 leading to a gathering of over a hundred people in 2024.
“If it wasn't for these two ladies, we would not be here today to honour and recognize a past that Canada does not often talk about,” said Nasukin Jason Louie, Yaqan Nuʔkiy (Lower Kootenay Band). “The purpose of these schools was to assimilate indigenous children into Christian, European ways. Many survivors of these schools reported emotional, physical, spiritual, sexual, and mental abuse.”
There were 140 federally-run residential schools in Canada, operated between 1867 and 1996. Over 150,000 First Nation, Métis, and Inuit children attended the institutions between the ages of four and 16. Although official records are still incomplete, it is estimated that thousands of children did not survive the experience. In 2019, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation shared the names of 2,800 who had died in residential schools, and it is believed there are thousands more.
Louie said more should have been done to support the survivors who endured so much pain. On his count, the crowd joined together to say, “Welcome home.”
“Being strong Indigenous people, we are resilient. We persevere, but we still need this time to heal and educate all Canadians about the truth of what happened to this country,” said Louie. “With this walk, let’s reflect on what this day is truly about.”
