Orange shirts fill downtown Kitchener on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Downtown Kitchener was a sea of orange on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Members of Indigenous communities and residents showing solidarity gathered for a community walk from The Healing of the Seven Generations on Frederick Street.

“Everytime we'd go over a hill, it was just orange everywhere. It's nice to see people coming together for this kind of stuff. Usually, it doesn't happen,” said Senihele Angus, whose family helped organize the “Remember Me, Remember Us” community walk.

A couple of attendees estimated it was a crowd of hundreds.

Regional police provided traffic control.

Sheena Merling, the resident lead behind the Every Child Matters Crosswalk in Victoria Park said the day was about healing.

“The birds would sing. The people would smile. The tears that needed to be shed from the pain that we carry, we could let it out together and not feel like we had to be silent, and do that ourselves,” she said.

Students and teachers at Suddaby Public School carried “Every child matters” signs and stood in support as the crowd walked by. 

Residents waved from building balconies and banged on pots and pans in solidarity.

“I've been giving away my power for too long. I'm taking it back,” some sang.

The crowd made its way to the clock tower in Victoria Park.

“We walk because it's our way of walking for those who couldn't. It's our way of taking those steps in the world that the children that didn't make it out of residential school couldn't take,” said Amanda Trites, Dehsahsodre program coordinator with The Healing of the Seven Generations. 

“It's our way of walking and taking those steps for family members… who survived residential school, but then lost their lives due to addictions, alcohol, or suicide because of the trauma that residential schools caused.”

In Victoria Park, there was drumming, smudging ceremonies, and dancing.

“It's a weird bundle of emotions. There's so many people doing so much here, and then you think of the reason why they're here. It gets sad,” said Angus.

Indigenous speakers reflected on the painful experience of being cut off from their culture and family. 

Donna Dubie, executive director of The Healing of the Seven Generations also called the crowd to action.

“May you reach out to those different levels of government and tell them what we need to do to make changes,” she said.

Trites said she makes $30,000 less as a program coordinator in an Indigenous grassroots organization than her counterparts in mainstream organizations.

“We're inundated with anything and everything that has to do with Indigenous peoples, but we don't get the funding. We don't get the support. We're just expected to work with what we have and fix all the problems that are there with what little we are given, and that's not possible,” Trites told CityNews 570. 

She also called for more support to help people experiencing homelessness.

“…living in these tent cities around our region. They're being given drugs, being made to sell their drugs, being made to sell themselves and our levels of government are passing the puck. They're not doing anything for these children that need our help and we're only one small agency,” Trites said to the crowd.

She said Indigenous communities have felt unheard. 

“It's powerful for us to see people hearing us, people supporting us, people agreeing with us on the fact that residential schools should have never happened. It should've never been a part of our history. The things that we're going through now as Indigenous people shouldn't happen,” Trites said. 

Information about British colonial history has been posted on the Queen Victoria statue in the park, which is steps away from the Every Child Matters crosswalk.

“It's been an emotional week… and I felt it because our voices are getting stronger, especially as we lead into truth and reconciliation. But, people need to remember it's the actions,” Merling said. 

Very powerful crowd. Strollers, bikes, wagons, pups and many supporters waving from businesses and downtown buildings #nationaltruthandreconciliationday pic.twitter.com/Zgy4anJgwQ

— Christine Clark (@CClark570) September 30, 2022

“Look a sea of orange!” heading to Victoria Park @CityNewsKIT pic.twitter.com/NZ0bwVASzu

— Germain Ma (@GermainMa1) September 30, 2022