Orange light installations pay tribute to victims of Indian Residential School System

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BRANTFORD, ON: At a Special Council meeting held on June 28, 2021, Brantford City Council approved a series of tributes to demonstrate the City’s solidarity with Indigenous communities as our nation continues to mourn the discovery of unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential school sites in Canada. To recognize our shared grief for victims of the residential school system, survivors and their families, the City has implemented a series of tributes including:  

Victoria Park

  • Dedicated spaces of reflection and healing in Victoria Park and Children’s Memorial Garden where members of the community can pay respects to victims of the Indian Residential School System. People have left moccasins, teddy bears and cards in remembrance and anything left at these locations will be offered to the Woodland Cultural Centre to archive
  • Flags at all City facilities will be lowered to half-mast on the first day of each month commencing on July 1 continuing until the end of the calendar year in memory of the children who lost their lives at residential schools across Canada
  • A donation of $100,000 to the Woodland Cultural Centre’s Save the Evidence Campaign
  • Development of an ongoing community education and awareness campaign that will be informed by Indigenous educational and cultural programming

Today, the City announced that orange lighting displays have now been installed at Victoria Park, Children’s Memorial Garden in St. Andrew’s Park on Brant Ave., Harmony Square and the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, that will be visible every evening beginning at dusk during the summer.

To move forward in the spirit of healing and reconciliation, the City of Brantford recognizes how important it is to ensure that the truth of what happened here is remembered, and that current and future generations of Canadians understand the impact the Residential School system has had on so many in our region and across Canada.

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