Brandon woman turns streets into a memorial for 215 lost children
A Brandon woman has turned some city streets into a memorial for the 215 children whose remains were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
Jordan Wilson, who is the granddaughter of a residential school survivor, said when she learned of the news of the unmarked graves, she knew she had to do something.
“I wanted to take an opportunity to voice for them and voice for those who don’t have a voice anymore,” she said.
Wilson said she builds for a living, so she felt that building 215 crosses was the best way she could commemorate the children.
In the end, with the help of dozens of other people, she set up the crosses at Victoria Avenue and 18th Street in Brandon.
“Two hundred and fifteen written down may seem like a small number when it’s written down with so many others, but when you put it in perspective, it’s completely astonishing,” she said.
“It took over all of Victoria Avenue in Brandon, a huge portion of 18th Street.”
Wilson noted that she was blown away by the number of people who helped with the memorial.
“I figured there would be a few people and a few would set them in place, but today it turned out to be a life-changing moment to walk with others and share that experience and honour those we lost, those we cherish, and those that survived,” she said.
CONTINUING THE SEARCH
Wilson said she believes other residential school sites need to be searched as well.
“We need to bring our children home,” she said.
Wilson added that it is sad to think how many graves will be found as more sites are searched.
“It’s so sad. I know the numbers are going to rise if they start searching other residential schools and they find more,” she said. “There could be tens of thousands of children being found.”
She said that once these searches begin, she will be taking on another project to honour the children.
“I want something set in stone, preferably concrete, but that’s still a work in progress,” she said.
TIES TO RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS
Wilson said her grandmother attended the residential school in Brandon.
“She went through some hardships,” she said, noting that her grandmother always said there were others who had it worse.
Wilson said both of her parents attended day school and said the same thing.
“They always made sure there was always a positive outlook for me and my sisters to look back on,” she said.
“But now that I’m starting to look back and hear more stories and hearing other things, it’s hard to see a positive side.”
- With files from CTV’s Mason DePatie.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.