Pairs of children’s shoes are being left on the steps in front of Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate, where a Tuesday evening vigil is planned in honour of the more than 215 Indigenous children whose bodies were recently discovered in a mass grave at a former British Columbia residential school.
“They never got to come back home,” said Hannah Geauvreau-Turner, who is organizing the event with Desiree Fekete and Xicotencatl Maher. “It’s a huge genocide that has happened.”
The vigil is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. featuring a number of speakers, drumming and more before participants make their way down Macdonell Street to the river, where the event wraps up.
It’s intended to provide an opportunity for Indigenous people and allies to collectively grieve for the children whose bodies were discovered.
“Allies are welcome, but be mindful this is for Indigenous peoples,” said Geauvreau-Turner, whose grandmother is a residential school survivor.
“It was said by some survivors that they remember seeing the nuns burying, hiding stuff when they were younger,” she added. “It’s sad, but there’s going to be more bodies of kids to be found at other residential school locations.”
When students went missing, their classmates considered them the lucky ones, Geauvreau-Turner continued, explaining they were thought to have gone home to their families.
“They never thought these kids were being buried.”
Asked why the basilica steps were selected as the vigil’s location, Geauvreau-Turner said, “The lives that were lost are the responsibility of the Catholic church.”
Posted on Facebook during the weekend, by Monday morning more than 450 people had indicated they’re planning to attend or interested in attending.
“It got attention pretty fast,” said Geauvreau-Turner. “It’s a lot more people than we had expected and we appreciate it.”
Geauvreau-Turner encourages anyone who attends the vigil to wear a mask and maintain at least six feet of distance from people who are not in their bubble.