A vigil in Kitchener, Ont. for Indigenous children who died in residential schools drew hundreds of people Thursday night. Here's what some of them said about what needs to change going forward.
KITCHENER Students at Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener are pushing to change the name of the street outside their school. On Monday, the Grade 10 Canadian History and Civics class at the high school took to Twitter with an open letter calling for the city to change the name of Indian Road, describing the name as offensive, disrespectful and a source of harm to others. “How can you walk down the street and not feel bothered by that sign?” questioned Harmanpreet Singh, one of the students leading the charge to change the street name. Singh says the idea evolved from a class discussion of Canadian and First Nations history. Classmate Molly Buitenhuis says the change is a simple way to be more inclusive.
Posted: May 12, 2021 1:25 PM ET | Last Updated: May 12
Students in a Grade 10 history class at Grand River Collegiate Institute are calling on the City of Kitchener and politicians to renamed where their school is located, saying Indian Road is insensitive and offensive to the Indigenous community. (Google Street View)
Grade 10 history students at Grand River Collegiate Institute are calling for the City of Kitchener to rename Indian Road where the Ontario high school is located.
In an open letter, GRCI history students say Indian Road is insensitive and offensive to Indigenous Peoples and should be changed. Our school teaches about inclusiveness and we ve come a super long way, and this is our next step. The street contradicts our messaging at the school, said student Molly Buitenhuis.