'Our actions must come from the heart and reflect a commitment to do better,' says mayorA volunteer rearranges shoes at the memorial for residential school victims at Calgary's City Hall on March 12, 2023.According to a statement released by the city, Fort Calgary will work with the city to build a memorial close to the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers. While a marker has been placed at the site, the exact location of the permanent memorial still needs to be finalized.
"This permanent memorial will be a space to honour residential school survivors, their families and the thousands of children who never returned. It will be a reflective space to mourn individually and collectively, and ensure that our shared history, no matter how painful, is not forgotten." A temporary memorial was built by several local communities after 215 unmarked graves were found at the former site of Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C. in 2021.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that 'the permanent memorial will be a reflective space to mourn individually and collectively and ensure that our shared history, no matter how painful, is not forgotten.'