CANADA
Vermilion Standard
Bryan Myers
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
For days, four people made their way on foot across the prairies from Stony Knoll, Saskatchewan to Edmonton, Alberta, a 500-kilometer journey to honour the memories of indigenous children who fled from residential schools but never returned home.
Last Thursday, the group stopped at the United Church in Vermilion for the night.
The group originally met in Winnipeg has decided to traverse the prairies by foot for the National Truth and Reconciliation Event on Residential Schools in Edmonton. Along they way, they’ve been taken in by various groups both First Nation and Christian.
“We’ve been hosted by a number of First Nations communities,” said Laurens Van Esch, originally from the Netherlands, has taken on the journey after having lived in Canada for only three months. “Their survivors share their stories with us, it’s incredibly powerful. It’s unimaginable to be taken away from your parents, and everything you know and have your identity taken away by priests in these very loveless environments.”
The group walks five to 10 hours each day and roughly 30 kilometers on average.
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