TUSKET, NS – Children, their parents and others tied orange ribbons onto the branches of a tree in Tusket, Yarmouth County, after a handful of families took part in a Canada Day morning walk to acknowledge the wrong done at residential schools.
The children and survivors of Indian Residential Schools have been on the minds of Canadians following the discovery of mass graves at several of these schools. This year those discoveries – coupled with the dark history of residential schools – caused many people to rethink how they would mark Canada Day. Many opted for a day of reflection.
In Tusket, local resident Miguel D’Eon wanted to mark Canada Day this way and to involve others. He turned to local resident Joe Bishara and a July 1 morning family walk event was organized with some local families invited to take part. Acadia First Nation was also represented.
“We had a conversations around ‘What does it mean to be Canadian?’ in this context,” explained Bishara. “None of us feel less proud to be Canadian, but this year in particular it seemed appropriate to put the soul focus on our relationship with our Indigenous brothers and sisters across our nation.
“We wanted to do a family walk together on Canada day to bring the focus to being Canadian means we have a responsibility to take responsibility for our history,” he said.
“I think this is a step in the right direction,” added D’Eon.
The Municipality of Argyle showed its support for the family walk, as well.
The starting point was the Tusket Courthouse and Gaol, said to be the oldest surviving combined courthouse and jail in Canada. People walked to a park near the Tusket bridge where smudging took place, along with the tying of ribbons on the tree.
The walk and accompanying activities was seen as a time for reflection and to spread a message of reconciliation and healing.