Neighbours turn their street into a tribute to 215 lost children

By Mike Anderson

When Steven Loweth and his partner Lionel Ketola, both United Church Ministers, heard the news that the remains of 215 children were discovered in a mass grave at the Kamloops Residential School in B.C., they decided they had to do something to honour the lost children.

But they weren’t sure what to do. So, they turned to a neighbour, Hayley Williamson, who recently moved from Georgina Island.

Together they came up with the idea to line their street, Dalton Rd. in Jackson’s Point, with 215 lawn signs displaying a beating orange heart.

“When I first heard the news, it impacted me quite a bit emotionally, as I’m a minister in the United Church of Canada. And our church was partly responsible for some of this — 10 per cent of the residential schools were under the guidance of the United Church,” Loweth said.

“My job is to fight for justice and advocate for reconciliation with our First Nations people. So I approached our neighbour Hayley, who is from Georgina Island, with the idea of doing something within our community. And she thought it was a beautiful thing to do.”

After watching a TikTok video produced by a social media influencer who placed 215 beating orange heart signs on her front lawn, they decided to follow her lead.

Loweth, who owns a small printing company, was able to get the 215 signs printed and mounted on bamboo sticks, then, last Saturday, neighbours pitched in to get the signs in front yards.

The trio also invited their neighbours to a small vigil for the 215, held on Sunday, at their road-end beach. Williamson conducted a smudging, sang, and offered prayers to the children. She also used the time to speak about the challenges facing Indigenous peoples in Canada, including the impact of residential schools.

“It meant so much to me that our street came together at a time like this to honour these children in such a good way,” Williamson said.

“I felt so much love Sunday night. I felt so grateful to live in a community like this, especially since I moved here from Georgina Island to buy my first home. And I couldn’t have asked to be in a better community.”

But, despite the warm feelings, Williamson told her neighbours that there could be no reconciliation without truth.

“I said to everyone at the beach, if you are just learning of this now, you have so much more to learn. And I don’t say that to make people feel guilty. But to know the real truth of Canada, and to continue educating yourself and others is necessary to move forward in this reconciliation.”

Loweth also sees the need for more awareness and education. Still, he wants to see action in the form of a formal apology from the Catholic Church and the release of any records relating to deaths at residential schools. He also wants the federal government to act on all the recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.

“We just need to advocate and push the government to do that, regardless of what government is in,” he said.

While Indigenous people feel anger, sadness and grief over the lost children, Williamson believes it’s a turning point of sorts.

“If there is a positive, I think the positive would be all the non-indigenous people that are joining us in honouring these children’s lives and realizing that Indigenous children and families are still struggling in this country today,” she said.

“The discovery of these children has brought awareness to the rest of the residential school sites across Canada and will hopefully reveal their truths as well.”