A First Nations organization and the City of Thompson teamed up to transform an ordinary crosswalk into a visual reminder of ongoing reconciliation efforts in time for Orange Shirt Day.
The collaborative effort between Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents two dozen Northern Manitoba First Nations, and the city came together in a day after many prior discussions, says Shyanna Lynxleg of MKO.
“We’ve been meeting with Mayor [Colleen] Smook and Anthony McInnis, the city manager, for quite a while discussing this and our seven banners that we are going to erect along the road,” she said.
Traffic was diverted through the Thompson Plaza parking lot on Sept. 29 while the Selkirk Avenue crosswalk, which is just a few feet from MKO’s offices, was painted orange with the slogan Every Child Matters in white.
“We got everything together, the city came out, the city councillors, they were painting, the mayor was painting, Anthony McInnis,” said Lynxleg. “It’s a beautiful visual and it’s a beautiful honour to the children that were in residential schools, that are still buried there.”
The crosswalk was blessed by elder Jack Robinson on the morning of Sept. 30, Canada’s Second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
A couple of interactions while the crosswalk was being painted reminded Lynxleg that old attitudes die hard. One older gentleman walking by said that Indigenous people are hypocrites for claiming every child matters but failing to take care of their own children. A group of younger men in a truck said they were going to spit on the crosswalk every time they drove past it but Lynxleg said she and others who were there at the time simply wished the critics a good day.
“We don’t combat hate with hate,” she said. “We realize that we still have a lot of work to do within Thompson. Change will take time. We may change some people’s minds, but we may not. All we can do is just work towards that.”
Encouragingly, the vast majority of passers-by appreciated the message.
“They would honk their horns or gives us the thumbs-up or yell out the window, ‘Good job,’ and, ‘It’s beautiful,’” Lynxleg said. “We’re quite happy.”
