Victoria Commemorates Residential School Victims on National Orange Shirt Day

Several speakers came forward with shocking accounts and reminders that Canada is one of those countries where shit happens and mistakes were made.

At least 600 people, wearing the emblematic orange shirt, gathered at Centennial Square in Victoria to empathise with the thousands of residential school survivors carrying the stigma of genocide and to mourn the countless more children who didn’t survive the ordeal.

I say at least 600 people because I couldn’t see the whole crowd from my standpoint. Judging from pictures on the news, the actual count may be closer to a thousand.
A traditional dance by indigenous performers.
Children from a local playschool participated in the event.

The event started with airs of festival, with songs and dances interspersed among ritual acknowledgement speeches, and for a while it could have been construed as a family-friendly event. But the wind quickly turned when Eddie Charlie, one of the event’s organisers, came forward to share his own experience, and from there several speakers would relate their own harrowing accounts.

This native elder had a lot on his mind when he recounted his experience of very nearly being assimilated by a society that would deny his people’s plight, until his own people very nearly rejected him.

The descriptions were graphic. The witnesses would speak of children being abducted by the authorities, and of being depersonalised just like prisoners. They would speak of children being beaten, degraded, molested and raped, and of course even killed. They would speak of the worst punishments being inflicted in a vicious campaign to snuff out aboriginal culture, down to their names, languages, culture, and folklore.

They would call it genocide, perpetrated by a colonialist mindset dead set on either assimilating or destroying indigenous peoples.

Naturally, a strong parallel was stressed out with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its own blatant campaign of genocide, hell bent on destroying its history, language, culture, and if need be, its very people.

Let it not be said that Canada stands out as a country where shit doesn’t happen and mistakes are never made. Not if the thousands of survivors struggling with the reverberating stigma of being very nearly weeded out by an invasive species have anything to say about it.

On the bright side, Eddie’s recently stolen bike was replaced at the end of the ceremony.

Recent Posts

FULL DISCLOSURE: Victoria City Council Directory

Fellow activists and advocates, come read the answer to every question about Victoria city council members that you've been too…

19 hours ago

Environmental Activists Crash Cabinet Swearing Ceremony at Government House

Two dozen environmental activists staged a demonstration outside Government House in Victoria, as hundreds of guests lined up for the…

3 days ago

DOUBLE FEATURE: Palestine Solidary Rallies at Lockheed Martin’s Esquimalt Office, BC Legislature in Victoria

Been waiting for a Saturday that didn't feel like a routine Palestine protest? Here's two on the same day, including…

5 days ago

Letter Campaign: Uphold the Human Rights of the Unhoused Residents of Victoria

Demand Victoria council members comply with their legal obligations under human rights law, as enshrined under the Canadian Charter of…

2 weeks ago

Victoria Marches for Palestine, Take Fifty-Seven

While morale remains high among regular protesters even after a year of weekly demonstrations against the Israeli regime, the scene…

2 weeks ago

Introducing the Victoria Liberation Front

We are not powerless, we are disorganised!

3 weeks ago

Are you protesting social injustice?

Whether you're denouncing police brutality or government overreach, clamouring for a safe drug supply or affordable housing, defending homeless encampments or fighting off the colonial invader, advocating for the disabled or racial minorities, pursuing either legal or extralegal means of retaliation, you'll find plenty of interest within these pages by a fellow insurrectionist butting heads with a callous society and a corrupt system. Come misbehave with the rest of us!

Subscribe on wordpress.com (click the "Subscribe" button for email notifications)

Recent Posts