'Every Child Matters' sign on Vancouver Island bridge defaced, repainted
Hateful vandalism of the Historically Orange Bridge over the Somass River in Port Alberni lasted just hours before Tseshaht First Nation members and supporters removed it Saturday morning.
Ken Watts, the nation's elected chief councillor, told CTV News he started getting messages from friends and members around 10 p.m. Friday.
Photos of the vandalism showed that the Every Child Matters message that survivors of the Alberni Indian Residential School painted on the concrete barrier in front of the bridge earlier this week had been defaced, with the word "child" modified to a "derogatory, racist name," Watts said.
The Tseshaht First Nation recently finished a ground-penetrating radar search at the former residential school, and on Friday – the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – more than 1,000 people participated in a walk to honour survivors that passed over the bridge.
"On the same night, this happens," Watts said, describing the vandalism as "disgraceful."
"It just shows me that we have a lot of work to do," he added.
At the same time, Watts said the reaction to the defaced sign was immediate and "amazing."
Some Tseshaht members noticed the vandalism while the paint was still wet and were able to remove some of it with soap and water, the chief councillor said.
On Saturday morning, he and others made their way to the bridge to repaint the sign, work they completed before noon.
Watts said the outpouring of support his nation has received since the vandalism has been encouraging.
"It shows there's a lot of people out there that want to help our communities and support us," he said.
Photos of the vandalism showed that the Every Child Matters message that survivors of the Alberni Indian Residential School painted on the concrete barrier in front of the bridge earlier this week had been defaced, with the word "child" modified to a "derogatory, racist name," Watts said. (Port Alberni RCMP)
POLICE INVESTIGATING
Port Alberni RCMP are investigating the vandalism and asking anyone with dash cam video or information about who was responsible for defacing the signs to contact them.
"Senseless acts such as this are unacceptable and troubling to our community, and revert the efforts towards truth and reconciliation," said Const. Richard Johns, in a news release.
"Although this crime was not reported to our detachment officers are actively investigating any available leads."
HONOURING SURVIVORS
Watts said the first thing he thought about when he saw that the barrier had been defaced was how hurtful it could be to residential school survivors in his community.
Heading west along Highway 4, the Historically Orange Bridge crosses the Somass River and enters the Tseshaht First Nation, where the Alberni Indian Residential School once sat just a few hundred metres away.
The bridge is a constant reminder to survivors of what happened there, to the point that some won't cross it because it reminds them of the school, according to Watts.
The recent paint job restored the bridge to the colour it was painted in the 1980s, but it also added the Every Child Matters message and the symbolic meaning the colour orange has come to represent.
In its current incarnation, the bridge is meant to honour all of the children who attended the school, but Watts says the key to maintaining that meaning will be education.
He said reconciliation requires calling out racist incidents like the one that happened Friday night and educating others about what residential schools were and the harm they caused.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'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.
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.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.