Port Severn Park is hosting a memorial on Thursday to remember the 215 Indigenous children, whose remains were found recently at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
The memorial, which continues until 8 p.m., includes posters sharing stories of residential school survivors along with information about the residential school system involving Indigenous children, the abuse and neglect they suffered and the Indian Act.
Local resident Brittany Heels attended the event, which saw the Township of Georgian Bay waive parking fees to encourage as many people to attend as possible.
"It was very well attended, with more people than I’ve seen in the park in years," Heels said. "It was a much-needed opportunity to be able to attend a memorial for these poor precious children and see them honoured as they should have always been."
There was also information on the goals for reconciliation, calls for action by the Canadian government along with statistics about violence and mortality rates at residential schools.
"It was a very emotional walk, as some of the information presented was quite devastating and just so sad and shocking — even if you’ve heard it before," said Heels, who noted there was also information about how residential schools have affected generations of Indigenous families and the loss of their culture.
