WEEK OF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL MEMORIALS ACROSS MUSKOKA STARTS MONDAY AT SUNRISE
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
BRACEBRIDGE — The longest day of the year will begin here downtown with a sunrise commemoration to begin Indigenous Awareness Week and to honour the 215 First Nations child victims found in an unmarked grave at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.
Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Scott Aitchison and Trisha Cowie have collaborated in organizing five days of community services starting early Monday June 21.
At 5:30 a.m. Cowie and volunteers will place 215 commemorative and “awareness-raising” signs in Memorial Park where the display will remain until the evening.
At 1 p.m. a public ceremony will take place at the park, which will include First Nations drummers, words from Indian Residential School survivor Elder Lila Tobobondung and from Traditional Elder Doug Pawis.
Aitchison and Cowie will be joined by MPP Norm Miller, district chair John Klinck and Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith.
The following four days the commemorative signs will be moved throughout Muskoka, where they will be displayed from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
Tuesday, June 22, Port Carling: Hanna Park
Wednesday, June 23, Gravenhurst: GullLakeRotaryPark
Thursday, June 24, Port Severn: PortSevernPark
Friday, June 25, Huntsville: RiverMillPark
“I would encourage all residents to pay their respects by listening and learning,” said Aitchison in a release today.
“This will be a moment for communities to come together and reflect, raise awareness and learn about residential schools,” said Cowie — an Indigenous member of the Hiawatha First Nation — who was the federal Liberal candidate in Canada’s last national election, won by Aitchison in October 2019.
“It is an opportunity to honour the Indigenous children who never made it home to their families. I hope this profound moment is a watershed moment that motivates non-indigenous Canadians to act and to demand the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.”
Indigenous speaker at Bracebridge council
Last night Bracebridge’s town council heard from Lynda Nicholson, a member of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation.
She spoke to them about her life growing up as an Indigenous person in Canada, and the impact residential schools have had on her and all of her brothers and sisters.
“My hope is that this is a starting point for the residents of Bracebridge to educate themselves on these heart wrenching matters,” Nicholson said in a release from the town today.
“I don’t want this to become yesterday’s news. I hope we can use the awareness of these atrocities to help us move forward in a positive way and help us work together for a respectful, more understanding world for Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike.”
“It was an absolute honour to hear from Lynda at last night’s council meeting,” said Mayor Graydon Smith. “Lynda’s words had, and will continue to have, a tremendous impact on all of us.”
He added: “We will continue to support those grieving and raise awareness of these issues in our community. I encourage you to take the time to educate yourself and watch Lynda’s powerful presentation.”
Following the devastating news about the 215 children whose remains were discovered on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation Territory, deputy mayor Rick Maloney contacted Nicholson to request that she speak to council about her experience.
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