A pair of students from Wallaceburg, who attend Ursuline College in Chatham, made a memorial in honour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S) and the 215 bodies found in an unmarked grave at the Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia.
Dakota Sands and Leela McLaughlin, both in Grade 9, are a part of Kidwin Zhingwaak, Voice of the Pines, a group of students from UCC who learn about local Indigenous culture and their identity.
Sands said the group created the memorial on Monday, June 14, 2021, which was comprised of red and orange duct tape messages by artist, Mark Reinhart, 215 red and orange pieces of material that they tied to the fence outside the school, along with 215 orange flags lining the front yard.
Sands said the public was being encouraged to add their own ties to the memorial.
“It went well,” Sands told the Sydenham Current.
“While we were working, cars honked and not long after we finished, three women came and started tying their own ties. Everyone worked amazing together and we had everything done within about two hours, even with a minor set-back of a storm.”
Sands added the purpose of creating the memorial was to show the community the importance of remembering and honouring those who came before us.
“And those of us who were lost,” she said.
