Hundreds of motorcycle riders rally for residential school survivors on Vancouver Island
Hundreds of motorcycles revved up on Vancouver Island over the weekend to raise awareness for the 215 children who were buried at a former Kamloops residential school site, and to show support for survivors.
On Sunday, residential school survivors, alongside their families and supporters, gathered in Duncan for the rally.
"Today, we ride for them and we ride for all the Indigenous Peoples, and we ride for justice," said organizer Kelli Symonds, before the riders headed off on a 160 kilometre ride across the South Island.
Before the ride began, Victoria Orange Shirt Day organizer and residential school survivor Eddie Charlie sold T-shirts in support of the campaign.
"It's not just a story. It's real," said Charlie. "Children were starved, physically abused, and many of them sexually assaulted."
"So the 215 children is not only the biggest wake up call for Canada, but for our people too, and it gives us the opportunity to talk about our own experience," he said.
Residential school survivor Eddie Charlie is pictured at a motorcycle rally in support of survivors in Duncan: June 20, 2021 (CTV News)
Sunday's motorcycle procession was led by survivors, with family and friends following closely behind.
The sight was an emotional one for Charlie.
"Very moving," he said. "As somebody who was taken away from home as a very tiny child, having an opportunity to see people honour the residential school experience – it's very moving and I can't raise my hands high enough to all the people who came."
Riders cruised from Duncan to Sidney and back again before an afternoon healing ceremony and moment of silence took place.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.