On June 18, the City of Penticton canceled all official Canada Day celebrations for 2021.
When reached for comment at the time, Mayor John Vassilaki was succinct.
"We felt it was in the best interest of the community that we show respect for the Indigenous people and those children who perished," he said.
But that didn't mean Gyro Park, the usual scene for the city's day-long Canada Day extravaganza, was necessarily going to stay empty.
And this morning at 11:00, beginning with a minute of silence for both the victims and the survivors of Canada's residential school catastrophe, a couple hundred people, most wearing orange shirts, gathered to remember, to admonish and to heal.
And to listen to a drum ceremony admirably conducted in 35-degree temperatures.
Earlier in the day, Penticton Indian Band member and social media star Nick Kruger invited locals to an 8 am coffee, where he gave thanks to the city and its residents for not celebrating Canada Day and expressed his desire for a better future.
"We just need to understand each other better," he said. "The more we know, the better it is for all our children."
Echoing those thoughts at the mid-day gathering was Darryl-Jean Peeman, a Syilx Indigenous woman and Penticton Indian Band member.
"As I was driving here today," she said, "I saw a lot of different faces, a lot of different colours, and they're all wearing the orange shirt.
"And I think about families wearing the shirt, seeing restaurant staffs wearing the shirt. And as an Indigenous woman who grew up with so much racism and hurt just for being who I am, it just meant the world to have others recognize what happened to our people, especially on Canada Day.
"This just means the world to us."
But, she added, the damage continues to be revealed and the reclamation has just begun.
"Just yesterday, 182 children were found at Cranbrook. That was where my grandma went to residential school," she said. "And my grandpa went to Kamloops. I've heard all these stories, and those children are saying 'Don't forget about us,' 'Tell them what happened.'
"And that’s what we're doing today. We're here to reclaim this day. Canada Day was built on the genocide of all Indigenous people, and we're here today to take that back. Take our own power back."
PIB member Kylie Kruger stood near the back of the crowd, proudly waving a huge homemade "Every Child Matters" flag.
"When I was younger, I used to celebrate Canada Day," she said. "Being Indigenous myself, I still have lots to learn, so I understand some people when they say they're proud of their freedom and proud to be a Canadian.
"But this year I think we're wanting people to stand with us. If you're a proud Canadian, remember where you got that freedom and how you got it, and the truth behind it, because the truth of how Canada became a country isn't all sunshine and rainbows."
But, she added, there is hope.
"I think once we come together as a country, then we can celebrate Canada day again."
