Hundreds of people wearing orange shirts marched through downtown Winnipeg late Friday afternoon to honor local children who died in dormitories.
The crowd left the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street at 5 p.m. and arrived at the grounds in front of the Manitoba Legislature as the rally, dubbed “Repeal Canada Day,” began.
Winnipeg police urged drivers in the area to take an alternate route or expect delays during the procession.
This is the second year that rallies have been held in Winnipeg on Canada Day to draw attention to the painful legacy of the country’s school system.
Michael Yellowing Cannon says Friday’s Cancel Canada Day rally is a continuation of last year, when two statues were toppled near the Manitoba legislature. (Stephanie Crum/CBC)
On 1 July 2021, two statues of British monarchs were toppled during a rally aimed at replacing national holidays with actions in memory of hundreds of Indigenous children buried in unmarked graves in schools across the country.
A statue of Queen Victoria that was toppled and decapitated has been deemed beyond repair by the provincial government and will not be rebuilt.
Last year, Michael Yellowing Cannon was at the statue taking pictures as it was tied up with ropes and dragged to the ground.
“The sound of bronze breaking on stone felt like a tomb opening, releasing all those residential school bodies,” he said.
Yellowwing Kannon, a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, recalled the “no pride, no genocide” chants that rang out last year. He said this year’s rally was a continuation of the inflection point that occurred in July last year.
The Cancel Canada Day march rolls through downtown Winnipeg on Friday. (Stephanie Crum/CBC)
“This is something different,” he said. “While the rest of the nation goes about its business, we celebrate our resilience against genocide.
The meaning of Canada Day is different
Canada Day has a different meaning for Jamie Couture following the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in May 2021.
“Once they found a bunch of unmarked graves with our ancestors in them, that absolutely changed,” she said.
Couture, who is Anishinaabe, said it was important for her two daughters to attend the rally.
She emphasized the importance of knowing Canada’s past, including the source of pain for First Nations people, something she has faced for the previous two generations.
“It means just trying to change the future, trying to fund our way back, our seven teachings, our way and everything that was lost,” Couture said of the rally.
Gilbert Paul was one of several people who placed painted handprints on the spot where a statue of Queen Victoria once stood on Friday. (Sam Samson/CBC)
Like Couture, Gilbert Paul’s perception of Canada Day has changed.
He attended the rally because he wanted to see unity not only among the indigenous people but also people of different and diverse backgrounds.
“I learned a lot growing up, a different outlook and a different world today, and I’m so proud of everyone coming out,” Paul said. “It means the world to me.”
Paul, who is Ojibway, has ties to boarding schools. Both his parents survived the school and the chance to place an orange handprint on the spot where the statue of Queen Victoria used to be is important to him.
Handprints cover the spot where a statue of Queen Victoria once stood in Winnipeg. (Stephanie Crum/CBC)
“It’s not just a handprint,” Paul said.
Blanche Chief was at Assiniboine Park on Friday selling jewelry and orange t-shirts with various slogans.
She suggested it might be time to have a different holiday instead of Canada Day.
“Now is perhaps the time to remember the colonial genocide committed in Canada,” she said.
“It’s not a day to celebrate.”
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