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Active Lives marks National Truth and Reconciliation Day with walk

October 7, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

September 30 marked the very first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada and a walk throughout the town, while wearing orange, was carried out by participants of the Active Lives Day program.

Active Lives provides programming to adults with special needs, operating out of the Lord Dufferin Centre in Orangeville (32 First Street) since 2015 and opened an office in Shelburne (167 Main Street West) last year.

Executive Director of the Active Lives Day program, Howard Dalal, told the Citizen that him and the participants have been learning about the history of Indigenous people in Canada for the past few months. What sparked their learning journey was the news of the now thousands of unmarked graves discovered on the grounds of former residential schools, which were operated by the Government of Canada and various Christian churches from 1831 to 1996.

“It is very meaningful to all our participants to learn about Indigenous people in Canada and the plight that they have undergone,” said Dalal.

A total of 14 participants, with the support of Active Lives staff, family members, and friends, participated in the walk on Sept. 30 throughout town, while wearing orange shirts, which is a symbol to commemorate victims and survivors of residential schools. 

Chriss Goss, who is a participant of the program noted the importance of making Indigenous people feel accepted by all Canadians.

“I think with this recognition of Truth and Reconciliation Day for Indigenous people – it means a lot to all of Canada because if we don’t recognize them and make them a part of us, they will never feel accepted,” he said.

The Active Lives Day program was started in 2015 and runs Monday to Friday.

Anyone interested in joining can reach out to activelivesdayprograms@gmail.com

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