'We're here to honour survivors:' Turtle Island Healing Walk returns to London, Ont.
Healing, hope and honour — those were the main themes expressed at the second annual Turtle Island Healing Walk through downtown London, Ont. on Canada Day.
“I think it shows that there's London has a lot of spirit and a lot of compassion,” said Grand Chief Joel Abram of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI) referring to the diverse crowd at Victoria Park.
“It lets you know that, you know, the tide is turning in terms of recognizing the relationship between Canada and indigenous peoples isn't what it should be It's sort of a reckoning, and having regular everyday Canadians come out support us means a lot.”
The day began with drumming, jingle dancing, speeches on the stage and then the walk.
London police closed Richmond Street as a sea of orange filled the road from the park to Oxford Street.
At the corner, another drum and dance ceremony was held, followed by the release of orange smoke as a way to honour and remember those who died in residential schools.
One residential school survivor took the stage to share her story.
Lyla Bruyere of Sarnia, Ont. attended St. Margaret’s Residential School in Fort Frances, Ont. in 1959 when she was six years old, until she was 14.
“Being a survivor, like I always said, are a part of a nightmare,” said Bruyere, who is now a residential school educator.
“I look at the good side, and I look at these people coming together and pulling together like all nations here, and we learn from each other, so that this doesn't happen again,” she added.
Bruyere was thrilled with the amount of laughter in the crowd. “Laughter is healing,” she said.
With a number of events taking place on Canada Day, organizer Alyssa Rose wasn’t sure what the turnout would look like.
She was thrilled when it surpassed a few thousand.
She expressed the need for local communities and ethnicities to continue to move forward together.
“I hope it continues to create awareness,” said Rose.
“But also, relationships between our communities and Indigenous communities because that has been missing for so long. So I hope that's what this brings is new friendships,” she added.
Over the past year Rose said there have been ongoing conversations surrounding residential schools and the discovery of the graves.
Hearing Bruyere’s story drives home the importance of telling the history of residential schools and those who suffered.
“These are real stories,” said Rose. “They're not just something that happened a long time ago, but it's still impacting everyone today who has been touched. When we go back to our homes or communities we see it. It's evident in all of our indigenous relatives. Everyone knows about it. So when we get to hear those stories, it's just that reminder that how real that actually was because there's the stories that are here today.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.