A moment of silence during Canada Day festivities at Ship Point Friday morning was in stark contrast to the celebratory hustle and bustle that followed, bringing out thousands of people.
But that’s exactly what was intended, as part of a reimagined Canada Day focused on the living culture of Lək̓ʷəŋən people and acknowledged the suffering at residential schools.
“This is a new way of celebrating Canada Day,” said Esquimalt Nation Chief Rob Thomas. “Especially after last year’s overshadowed Canada Day.”
In-person Canada Day celebrations were cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and again in 2021 after an estimated 215 unmarked graves were discovered at the site of the former Kamloops Residential School. A year later, it’s estimated that the grave sites of just over 1,000 children have been discovered at residential institutions across Canada.
This year, there was no Living Flag, created with people wearing red and white standing in formation. While many participants at Ship Point wore Canada’s flag colours, many others wore orange, the colour associated with honouring survivors and victims of the residential school system.
“We’re all able to gather again, it’s long overdue and I’m glad that people are still remembering and respecting and honouring the lost children,” Thomas said. ” You look out and there’s just so many orange shirts. It’s not just the red and white anymore.”
By 12:30 p.m., thousands of people milled about at Ship Point, taking in the multicultural street market, food court and mainstage performances, which included the Lək̓ʷəŋən Dancers, blues artist Garret T. Willie, the Capital City Syncopators, Claire Copeland, singer-songwriter Joyce N’sana and many more.
Dozens of little ones were in line for the bouncy castle obstacle course and ice cream was in high demand as the heat of the day crept in.
Leslie Boucher was clad in a Canada Day hat and shirt. He was pleased to see festivities return to the city.
“It’s good to have a big celebration after COVID,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun celebrating Canada Day.”
Victoria’s Canada Day celebrations were hosted at Ship Point near the Inner Harbour for the first time this year, and started at noon with a Lək̓ʷəŋən canoe protocol, where city officials paddled to shore and asked permission to host the festival.
Before performances from the Lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Dancers, Songhees Nation Chief Ron Sam addressed the Canada Day crowd. He pointed to a spot in the distance, behind the stage.
“For those that don’t know, if you look across to where the Delta Hotel is, that’s where our main Lək̓ʷəŋən village was when the fort [Victoria] was established and built here on our territory,” he said. “It was our Lək̓ʷəŋən people really helping the fort establish itself.
“What’s really important on this day is just to highlight that we’re still here. We’re still moving forward despite all the challenges.”
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