THUNDER BAY -- A monument is in the works in Thunder Bay to remember residential schools and the way First Nation families have forever been altered.
Like so many other parts of Canada's history, those who lived it are growing older and their numbers are dwindling. On Wedneday more than 100 people took part in the Orange Shirt Day project, a national campaign to pass on the residential school experience.
A small group of residential school survivors stood in the crowd. Phyllis Webstad, whose orange shirt was taken from her on her first day at a residential school is the inspiration for the movement.
Even though many did survive the atrocities of the schools, they continued to face struggles once they came back.
Ronnie Beaver remembers government agents coming to his home and threatening his mother. He says no one told him and his siblings where they were going and once they arrived at the school things continued to get worse.
Orange shirt day walks and ceremonies took place at residential school sites across canada. Elders say that they want not just their youth but all Canadians to understand the place residential schools have had in Canadian history.
The walk in Thunder Bay helped to commemorate survivors of St. Joseph's residential school, which used to be where Pope John Paul II school now stands.
