IGNACE – The Township of Ignace in partnership with the Emmanuel Anglican United Church has repainted one of their crosswalks in support of Truth and Reconciliation Day which happens on Sept. 30.
Reverend Canon Jeanne Bryan brought the idea to the township of Ignace after seeing a post about a similar crosswalk in Orangeville Ontario on a Facebook group for Indigenous people who follow the Anglican faith.
“I called the township and said, ‘this is what I’d really like, and what do you think?’ and they certainly created miracles, and in the very short time, yesterday, we were able to have the crosswalk created,” Rev. Bryan said.
Once the idea was brought to the Ignace Town Council, it only took a few weeks to have the crosswalk complete.
“How it turned out was, we actually had the contractor in town which is pretty unusual, because usually we have to bring contractors in from long distances away, and they were in town and they were able to get the paint in the quantities and the colours that we required,” said Ignace Mayor Penny Lucas.
“And they were willing to go ahead and do this too, I think they were actually excited about it as well, so it turned out really well, it went really fast, and yeah, that’s how it happened.”
The reception by the people of Ignace to the new crosswalk design has been very positive according to Rev. Bryan.
“They were all excited to see it, and we hope that it’s a constant reminder to people that those stories need to be heard,” Rev. Bryan said.
“You know, it’s just shocking that the stories were never heard, and it’s way over time, and we all need to walk together.”
The feathers for the crosswalk were designed by Kim Richards, who is Ignace’s ICNLC Project Coordinator as well as a local artist.
The cost of the crosswalk came out of Ignace’s wellbeing fund, and the Township plans to continue to keep the crosswalk in good condition.
