Hundreds of Delta students and school district staff took part in walks for Truth and Reconciliation on Friday (Sept. 27).
Around 400 students, teachers and staff from Delta Secondary and several Ladner elementary schools (Hawthorne, Holly, Ladner, Neilson Grove and Port Guichon) participated in the district's main walk Friday morning, which started at DSS and ended at Delta Manor Education Centre.
Schools in North Delta and Tsawwassen organized walks in their own neighbourhoods to coincide with the larger event in Ladner.
Following the Ladner walk was a ceremony hosted by Indigenous cultural mentor Nathan Wilson outside Delta Manor that was livestreamed to all schools in the district.
The event included words of wisdom from Musqueam Indian Band Elder and Knowledge Keeper Thelma Stogan and Tsawwassen First Nation executive council member Valerie Cross, as well as students and district staff.
“We were inspired to organize this walk and ceremony as a way to honour and show respect for the children who never returned home and for the survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities,” Diane Jubinville, district principal of Indigenous education, said in a press release.
“We encouraged students and staff to wear an orange shirt. Our hope is that when people across Delta see a stream of students and staff wearing orange walking in their neighbourhood, it reminds them to continue their own journey towards reconciliation. We encourage all Delta residents to honour the National Day for Truth and Recognition and Orange Shirt Day, which fall on Monday, Sept. 30 each year, to increase their understanding of Indigenous history and culture.”
School board chair Val Windsor said the walk provided a wonderful opportunity for staff and students across the district to actively support Truth and Reconciliation.
“As a school district, we are committed to supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. We believe that all students and staff will benefit from a deeper understanding of Canada’s history of colonization and its influence on current relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people when they embark on a journey towards reconciliation," Windsor said in a press release.
"It is so important to educate youth on the history of Indigenous Peoples if we are to support healing and reconciliation with our local Indigenous communities.”
Friday's ceremony can be viewed online at sportswavetv.yaretv.com/watch/2093-sportswavetv-walk-for-truth-and-reconciliation.
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