\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6abc1ee544a836f6c87c0699jpeg.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAn Every Child Matters flag flies in the breeze during the second annual South Island Powwow at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chad Hipolito<\/p>\n
Bernard Andreason, a survivor who has written a book describing how he and two friends fled the Stringer Hall Residential School in Inuvik, told the crowd in Ottawa that it was inspiring to hear from survivors who speak their own languages.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Take the Indian from the child.\u2019 You can\u2019t do that. It\u2019s next to impossible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Andreason said many communities today are \u201cworking towards a better education for our children\u201d so they can be at home while they go to school.<\/p>\n
Jacquie Bouvier, a third-generation survivor and a member of the survivors circle at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, told Indigenous youth in the crowd they carry the strength and love of previous generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time we speak our languages, share our teachings, gather with one another as Indigenous Peoples, we reclaim something that was meant to be taken from us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour told the gathering Canada must \u201cconfront all forms of denialism that persist, despite extensive historical records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRemembering is only one step. It must be accompanied by a commitment to ensuring that injustices are never, ever repeated,\u201d Arbour said.<\/p>\n
Guests and participants at the Parliament Hill event were encouraged to bring a pair of children\u2019s shoes to place at the front of the stage to honour those who attended residential schools.<\/p>\n
Arbour added a small pair of orange moccasins to the display as a 60-metre-long cloth bearing the names of children who died as a result of residential schools was carried through the crowd.<\/p>\n
A number of people in attendance held one another and wiped away tears as the memorial cloth was presented.<\/p>\n
Separate events to mark the day took place across the country, including in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Iqaluit.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at an event in Edmonton.<\/p>\n
He issued a statement before the event in English, French and nine Indigenous languages, including Algonquin, Denesuline, Innu-Aimun, Inuktitut (Northern Baffin), Mi\u2019kmaq, Michif, Oji-Cree, Plains Cree, and Western Ojibway.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Carney said we shouldn\u2019t choose which parts of history we remember.<\/p>\n