A crosswalk to remember victims and survivors of residential schools is now part of the Grande Prairie landscape. The privately funded project included the painting of large orange handprints in the same vein as those seen in Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People graphics. On Sunday, community members came together to add their own marking to help commemorate its official unveiling.
The crosswalk at 97 Avenue and 101 Street is located just outside the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre’s Aboriginal Head Start Program. Program coordinator Joleen Bateman says they plan to take students out to show them what she calls an amazing addition to the neighbourhood.
“They did the orange handprints on our front window; they’ve been talking about it,” she says. “For those children to come this week, that wasn’t there last week, and to see that will be pretty neat for them.”
At least 150,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 were recorded as being forced into residential schools across Canada, where they were stripped. Bateman says, over time, they’ve put a lot of work into finding the right language and research to talk about the symbolism of the handprints, as they know of their importance, but want to keep in mind the sensitivity of the young students.
She adds, however, they are lucky to get to be the ones to change that dialogue.
“We teach their culture, language, where they come from, we honour who they are as individuals and families, and I feel like we are super honoured to be in this position,” she says.
“We will have over 30 families every day walk that crosswalk with their children… I think it’s a perfect place in Grande Prairie to put it,” she says.
The colour of the handprints stems from Orange Shirt Day, the true story of Phyllis Webstad, who had all of her possessions, including her orange shirt, taken from her upon entry into Saint Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. Orange Shirt Day is marked every September 30th, which it now shares with the statutory holiday, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
