Orange shirts fill Edmonton river valley for sold-out race
Orange shirts filled Kinsmen Park Friday as runners and walkers gathered for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
The second annual Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk was sold out, with 28 teams taking to river valley trails in remembrance.
"It was started last year to honour and remember the children who never came home, our little ancestors that never came home," said race director Anita Cardinal. "As well as to support those who did, who deal with intergenerational traumas every day."
The annual event is a fundraiser for OrangeshirtDay.org, Bear Clan Patrol YEG and Indigenous youth scholarships.
Cardinal, a runner, said the run/walk invites people from diverse backgrounds to participate in remembering that Every Child Matters.
"Running has been a source of healing for me. Running brings people together. I call it running towards the truth," she said.
Runners could register in three distances. In addition to a 10-kilometre and a five-kilometre course, a kids race followed a 2.15 kilometre trail – in recognition of the first 215 unmarked children's graves found in Kamloops in May 2021.
At the end of the day, participants were invited to an Elder's circle, to sit and listen.
"I think that is at the heart of what this race was, to bring everybody together so that we could all come together to learn from one another," Cardinal said. "Understanding and compassion is also another way moving forward and carrying hope."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Regina police officer injured after being accidentally shot by fellow officer's gun
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
From faulty kids' cribs to flammable kids' bathrobes, here are the recalls of the week
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.