'Every Child Matters': Residential school survivor attends St. Thomas, Ont. walk
As hundreds gathered for National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD) in downtown St. Thomas, Ont., Florence Henshaw stood quietly in the crowd.
"When I was eight years old I was taken from my mother and put in a residential school," says Henshaw. "I wasn't allowed to see her, and then after that I went into a foster home."
In the late 1960s Henshaw attended the Kamloops Residential School in Kamloops, BC.
That is the same school where the remains of 215 children were recently found.
"It's very true and I'm glad it's out now," says Henshaw, who now lives in St. Thomas. "It gives everybody peace and understanding."
This year marks the 25th anniversary of NIPD. This time the date is recognized with a heavy heart, as tributes pour in for the childen lost in residential schools, as well as murdered and missing Indigenous women.
Florence Henshaw, a residential school survivor, looks on at a St. Thomas, Ont. walk for National Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, June 21, 2021. (Brent Lale / CTV News)
Florence Henshaw, a residential school survivor, looks on at a St. Thomas, Ont. walk for National Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, June 21, 2021. (Brent Lale / CTV News)
A walk billed as 'Every Child Matters' took place along Talbot Street in St. Thomas Monday afternoon.
"It could have been me, it could have been my father, my grandfather, my grandmother, my aunts, uncles, anybody in my family," says Betty Jean Phillips Budden, the organizer of the walk.
"I cried for days after those children were found, and I just said, 'Tears aren't enough.' This isn't enough either but I just wanted to show care and compassion for the families of the residential school survivors and just remember them."
After a sea of people in orange shirts took over the downtown. The group marched a few hundred metres to the St. Thomas Anglican Church. There people laid 'tokens of rembrance' for the lost children.
"It's a stark reminder of what has happened and historically, it's unfortunate and sad. It's embarrassing," says Adrian ChrisJohn, chief of Oneida First Nation of the Thames.
Oneida Nation of the Thames Chief Adrian Chrisjohn speaks at the 'Every Child Matters' walk in St. Thomas, Ont. on Monday, June 21, 2021. (Brent Lale / CTV News)
Oneida Nation of the Thames Chief Adrian Chrisjohn speaks at the 'Every Child Matters' walk in St. Thomas, Ont. on Monday, June 21, 2021. (Brent Lale / CTV News)
"That's sometimes what people don't like to hear but it's the truth. We have to acknowledge that fact and work towards the real truth and reconciliation when it comes to First Nations and Indigenous people in Canada."
During the hour-long ceremony there were speeches, prayer, song and a 215 second moment of silence in memory of the 215 children from the Kamloops school.
"It's been swept under the rug for too long," says Budden.
"Every once in a while it'll come out, and then we get swept back under. But I don't believe that this time, we as a nation and our peoples, are going to let it to be swept under the rug again."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
ArriveCan contractor to be admonished by MPs in extraordinarily rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.