Walpole Island will not be observing Canada Day this year out of respect for residential school students and the survivors of the First Nation.
A media release from the First Nation said it will close its operations July 2 as a Day of Mourning for the residential school students who did not return home.
Chief Charles Sampson made the declaration this week.
"The abuse and mistreatment that took place at residential schools was meant to eliminate us as a people," said Sampson. "While it did not accomplish that, it has harmed our families and our community in incalculable ways. The presence of unmarked graves has been known to us through oral history, even as the mainstream considers this a 'discovery.' This is but one manifestation of the horrendous conditions that our elders and ancestors faced."
The release said the First Nation is "saddened by the reminder of a dark period in our history, brought back to light by the news from the Kamloops and Marieval residential schools."
The First Nation said its Council has committed to meet with survivors and develop a plan to address the wounds that exist in the community resulting from the residential school legacy.
In 2002, Walpole Island residential school survivors erected a Residential School Memorial Monument with names of approximately 400 survivors etched in granite.
A letter from the Walpole Island First Nation Council regarding residential schools and Canada Day. June 2021. (Release from the council's Facebook page)