(Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP)

By Abby Zieverink

Honouring Residential School Victims

Crosswalk painting for residential school awareness seeks final ‘community touch’

Oct 2, 2021 | 5:00 AM

Residents in Grande Prairie can help bring the final “community touch” to a crosswalk painted with orange handprints, which is meant to help raise awareness about the impact the residential schooling system had in Canada.

Meghan Zatko an organizer of the crosswalk says while there are currently multiple large orange handprints painted on it, they aren’t quite finished the design just yet.

“The next step, (is to) add a more personalized community touch to the crosswalk, by placing your own handprint within the void space where the larger handprints are,” she said.

The crosswalk is located at the intersection of 97 Avenue and 101 Street, with the first set of handprints painted on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In preparation for the crosswalk, Zatko says she approached the Grande Prairie Aboriginal Circle of Services and the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre, ensuring the crosswalk would be an appropriate commemoration.

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READ MORE: Crosswalk painting aims to honour Residential School victims, survivors

In Alberta, there were 25 residential schools, with the last one closing in 1996. The nearest one to Grande Prairie was located in Calais on Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation land, which operated from 1907-1961.

The crosswalk also aims at helping to honour the victims and survivors affected by the residential schooling system.

Zatko tells EverythingGP Miranda Laroche with the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre played a huge role in helping ensure every detail of the crosswalk showed a design that represented the Indigenous community in Alberta.

“I bounced every idea off her (Miranda Laroche), which is important to get her opinion, and Wayde and Darcy with the city actually came up the individual handprints idea.”

On October 3, community members can help bring the crosswalk full-circle, by putting their handprint on the crosswalk with orange paint.

“Anyone can come. This is a pay respects to our Indigenous community.”

All the supplies needed for the handprint painting will be at the crosswalk on the big paint day. Zatko mentioned they will also provide a demonstration on tips when residents place their orange handprints.

“On how to do it efficiently and effectively, so it’s not smeared with too much paint or not enough paint,” she said.

Residents wanting to help place an orange handprint on the crosswalk can meet at the Bonnetts Energy Centre parking lot on Sunday, October 3, at 10 a.m.