VANCOUVER—A sea of Indigenous peoples, activists, and neighbours spilled over the Georgia Viaduct and into Strathcona Park Sept. 24 in the name of reconciliation.

“For too long we have been invisible in our own lands,” Chief Ian Campbell told the massive crowd gathered at the park after the two-kilometre march. “Thanks to you, we are no longer invisible.”

Authorities estimated about 20,000 people participated in the Walk for Reconciliation, Vancouver’s second. The first walk was held at the close of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2013.


“It’s so uplifting to see everybody here,” said Stephanie Thompson, a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation and granddaughter of Chief Robert Joseph.

“Reconciliation is a lifelong accomplishment, I believe. It means coming to terms with your own individuality and others’ individuality and finding a way to move forward together,” said Thompson.

“It’s really significant and I believe Vancouver is the most powerful city to do it! We’re all so diverse and there’s so many opportunities to reconcile and be a better nation.”

Natasha Pittman is also a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation, although for most of her life, she hasn’t known it.

“I just recently found my roots and came home,” she said, proudly dressed in a red and black button blanket. “This is huge for me. Four years ago, I didn’t know what regalia was.”

Friends Natasha Pittman (left) and Stephanie Thompson from Alert Bay. Pittman discovered the truth about her heritage four years ago.

Pittman was adopted and it was only around her 18th birthday that she discovered her birth mother was from Alert Bay.

“I flew in and just showed up and started asking questions,” she said. “It’s a really small place so people put me with my family and we figured it out.”

Pittman said reconnecting with her family and discovering the truth about her heritage made her feel whole. “I’m overwhelmed, but very grateful that I’ve found it.”

Vancouver is the most powerful city to do it! We’re all so diverse and there’s so many opportunities to reconcile and be a better nation.
Stephanie Thompson

Canada’s attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, spoke at the Reconciliation Expo at Strathcona Park on behalf of the federal government.

“It’s a celebration that Indigenous people have been on these lands for millennia,” she said.

“We all have a role to play in reconciliation whether at home, whether at work, whether engaging with our friends and family, and I want to say this: I know that the federal government has a substantive role to play in reconciliation.”

She said she hopes the government will “move from denial to recognition of Indigenous rights,” and embrace a United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

“We have a lot of incredible work to do. Indigenous peoples in this country have incredible work to do in terms of rebuilding. We are committed to doing that work in partnership, moving away from conflict and protest to partnership and cooperation. We can do it together.”

Before the walk, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, issued a letter acknowledging that five residential schools existed in the bounds of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

“The Catholic Church played a role in the residential school tragedy,” he wrote, encouraging Catholics to participate in the march, a “praiseworthy initiative.”

First Nations from across B.C. were represented at the massive demonstration in Vancouver. Fred Sam, a member of the Nak’azdli Whut’en community, travelled from the small municipality of Fort St. James, northeast of Prince George.

“It’s important for us to be here,” said Sam, who marched with about 30 Nak’azdli Whut’en people. “A lot of our people are residential school survivors.”

Neither Sam nor his parents experienced life at a residential school, but some of his relatives have. “It’s great to be here together,” he said. “I didn’t realize there would be so many people. It’s great. It should continue. I hope it makes an impact.”