Brantford, Ont., will pay tribute to Indigenous children found in unmarked graves at residential schools, even as it goes ahead with modified Canada Day celebrations.
Changes include a moment of silence and the reading of a tribute at the start of a local virtual concert that is to begin at 7 p.m. on July 1.
Brantford City Council, during a special meeting on Monday, also approved a series of ongoing measures meant as a show of solidarity with Indigenous communities.
The city is making a $100,000 donation to the Woodland Cultural Centre’s Save The Evidence campaign, which seeks to preserve the history of a residential school that once operated in Brantford.
The city is also dedicating spaces where members of the community can pay respects to the victims of the residential school system.
Flags at all city facilities in Brantford will be lowered to half-mast on the first day of each month, starting on July 1, and continuing until the end of the calendar year.
In collaboration with Six Nations of the Grand River, July will be declared Regional Indigenous Education and Reflection Month in Brantford, with the goal of educating the community regarding Indigenous issues, history, language and culture.
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The city says the measures acknowledge Brantford’s proximity to the largest population of Indigenous peoples in Canada and “our shared grief” for victims of the residential school system.
“The goal should to be, I believe, to redouble our efforts to purge our community and country of hate and discrimination,” said Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis, “and the foster better understanding of the Indigenous nations in our country and how we can strengthen and better create the bond of that relationship for the benefit of all.”
Davis adds that the ongoing nature of the city’s tributes is a way to “reflect not just on July 1st, but on a regular basis after that and through our actions, reflect on what happened to these Indigenous children, so that becomes a more integral and central part of our history.”