Hundreds mark National Truth and Reconciliation Day in White Rock
Published 12:45 pm Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Hundreds of people turned out for the Semiahmoo First Nation’s sixth annual Walk for Truth and Reconciliation on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
An estimated 600 people joined in to mark Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in White Rock.
The event started with a walk beginning at Grand Chief Bernard Robert Charles Memorial Plaza on White Rock’s East Beach, near the House Posts, and continuing on to Semiahmoo Park.
Semiahmoo First Nation Chief Harley Chappell led walkers and offered a welcome in the park.
“Reconciliation isn’t made in Victoria, or in Ottawa. It’s made here,” he said.
Chappell expressed frustration that the same conversations on Aboriginal rights are happening year after year – the same conversations their ancestors and elders had.
“My prayer is our children won’t have to take the same positions and have the same conversations,” he said.
Keynote speaker for the event was Phyllis Webstad, CEO and co-founder of the Orange Shirt Society. At six years old, Webstad was sent to the St. Joseph Mission Indian residential school, where a gift from her grandmother, a shiny new orange shirt, was taken away from her. That moment laid the foundation for what has become a campaign of awareness and advocacy for residential school survivors.
The day continues with an Indigenous marketplace, performances and a complimentary lunch.