Chief Andy Rickard says Canada Day will not be celebrated in the Garden Nation First Nation in light of possible unmarked residential school burials and ongoing problems affecting Indigenous peoples
The Garden River First Nation will host its first Every Child Matters Walk in the Community on Friday in an effort to raise awareness about the issues that continue to affect Indigenous peoples and First Nations communities.
Chief Andy Rickard says his community has chosen not to celebrate Canada Day and will recognize July 1 in a different way in light of the discovery of possible unmarked burials in residential schools in and around the country.
“We see all the celebrations around Canada Day, and many communities, including ours, have decided to do something in honor of our children,” Rickard said.
The Garden River leader says the walk also seeks to recognize other social injustices, such as boiling water warnings, missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, and Ontario’s fight to overturn court rulings during the Treaty annuity case. Robinson-Huron.
“These are long-standing historical complaints that the judge, in this particular case, has ruled in favor of the signatories to the Robinson-Huron Treaty, but the provincial government is still appealing,” Rickard said. “So when you talk about reconciliation, when you talk about the theft of our lands, the theft of our children and everything that’s going on, it’s kind of a slap in the face to our people in the communities.”
Participants are advised to dress in orange and carry flags and banners for the walk, which will begin at the Garden River Recreation Center and end at the community center with the subsequent lunch.
Rickard says the walk is also open to all non-Indigenous people who want to participate.
“It’s open to everyone,” he said. “We will not reject anyone, and I think it is a time for everyone to come together, non-indigenous and indigenous, just to shed light on some of these things that are still going on in this country.”
Every Child Matters walk leaves the Garden River Recreation Center (48 Syrette Lake Road) at 11 a.m. on the dot. Participants are asked to meet at the recreation center at 10:30 p.m.
Lunch will be offered at the Garden River Community Center (corner of Shingwauk Street and 17B Road) after the walk. There will also be a shuttle service from the community center back to the leisure center after lunch.
Highway 17B will be closed from Belleau Lake Road to Ballpark Road during the walk.