Dunnville church claims decision to remove residential school memorial was a misunderstanding

By Mike Renzella

The Haldimand Press

DUNNVILLE—Last week, tensions rose in Dunnville after Father Sunny Sebastian removed a memorial tribute made up of shoes and stuffed animals from the steps of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, placed in respect to the 215 children found in an unmarked grave in Kamloops, BC just prior.

One of the people behind the memorial, Sammie Ne Hiyawak, shared their perspective of the incident. Earlier in the day, they attended the site with a friend and placed a number of children’s shoes, “used and well-worn to signify that our children were treated like garbage in residential schools.” They claim that no one from the church interacted with them while placing the monument at one of the church’s entrances.

Advertisement