NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — More than a hundred of Indigenous community members gathered in Niagara Falls for the 5th annual "Every Child Matters Walk," an evening of remembrance and awareness aimed at healing generational trauma from residential schools. This is part of Orange Shirt Day.
The walk honors victims, survivors and alumni of Indigenous residential schools, which contributed to a federal policy of forced assimilation that removed Native American children from their homes under the premise of Western education while forcing them to abandon their culture.
These children were often victims of physical abuse, and thousands are known to have died at these schools. The impact and pain of forced assimilation continue to be felt today, community members said.
The "Every Child Matters" walk serves as both a memorial and call to action, bringing education and awareness to the atrocities Native children endured in the residential school system.
"To ensure that not only do we get aware but we're educated and we make sure that it never happens again as we go forward with any society or any culture," Kevin Nephew said.
Nephew is the president and CEO of Seneca Gaming Corporation. The walk started at Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls before ending at Old Falls Street, representing a movement toward healing that begins with education.
"There have been documentaries and movies about it. Once you educate people, a lot of times they'll come forward with ways to resolve that and make it better as we go forward," Nephew said.
For many families, this history is deeply personal. Christina Passucci, a Tuscarora Nation member, said her great-grandfather was taken to residential schools at just 4 years old.
"I'm here to march because of the natives that never came home. My great-grandpa, Alvin Printup, was taken from his home when he was a small child," Passucci said.
The abuse endured inside those schools continues to affect families generations later, Passucci said.
"My family was beaten if they spoke any sort of language, Tuscarora, Senecan or anything, they were beaten until they did not speak anything and they had to learn the English language," Passucci said.
According to Boarding School Healing, by 1900, more than 20,000 Native children were forced into boarding schools. That number tripled by 1925.
The trauma continues to ripple through Indigenous communities today, Passucci said.
"I am a great-grandchild and I still feel the effects of what has happened within the community to have this happen, like I lost my brother because he never felt a place in this community," Passucci said.
Community leaders and members said events like "Every Child Matters" are a step toward healing and a reminder that Indigenous voices and stories must continue to be uplifted.
