The Osoyoos Indian Band and Town of Oliver are holding a solidarity walk to honour the Indigenous children who died at the Kamloops and Cranbrook residential schools that will take place Friday, July 9 at 10:40 a.m.
The group will gather at the bandshell in Oliver and begin walking at 10:45 a.m. to the Osoyoos Indian Band office. Members of the band will do prayers and drumming as well as share stories. Then the OIB will unveil a new residential school monument wall.
Participants are encouraged to wear an orange shirt and also bring a small painted rock to leave behind at the monument wall.
Sammy Louie, OIB council member, explained that Carol Sheridan from Oliver Parks and Recreation went to OIB in hopes of doing something in the community to show solidarity in light of the discovery of the mass burial of Indigenous children in residential schools all over the country.
“She approached OIB because a lot of the community was talking about how they can support the local First Nation, Osoyoos Indian Band,” said Louie. “We’ve been meaning to do something like this. And it’s just our dates just didn’t align with our community and what not. So just earlier this week we’ve finally picked a date.”
Louie said that the chief of Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir, will be at the walk tomorrow, as well as a representative from the Cranbrook Indian Band.
The residential school monument is located on a brick wall at the band office administrative building. Louie explained, “We have done that in honour of those who went to residential schools…there’s a lot of significance to this monument, and we haven’t really unveiled that to our elders, so we’re going to be doing that at the same time.”
“It’s overwhelming for us knowing that there is that support because you don’t know it until these kinds of things [happen], so our community is really feeling the love,” said Louie. “It’s just kind of really coming together in unity, walking together, honoring those children, and honoring our survivors.”
