St. Albert stands behind 'every child matters' with downtown crosswalk

An image of St. Albert's crosswalk honouring residential school survivors and their descendants at the intersection of St. Anne and Perron Streets on Sept. 25, 2024. (Evan Klippenstein / CTV News Edmonton)

A bear and a child now walk in perpetuity across St. Anne Street at Perron Street in St. Albert as a reminder that "every child matters." 

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"Every child matters" is the slogan used by the Orange Shirt Society to recognize the harms inflicted on Indigenous children, directly or intergenerationally, by Canada's residential school system. 

The crosswalk, designed by Cree, Ojibwe and Métis artist Karlliea Wood, was unveiled with a smudge and prayer ceremony on Tuesday ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day on Monday. 

Local Indigenous leaders, residential school survivors and St. Albert's mayor attended the crosswalk's unveiling. 

According to a press release, the crosswalk's bear symbolizes courage, strength and healing. 

The child, who wears their hair in braids, represents the resilience of Indigenous children and their connection to their ancestors. 

Wood's design was selected in a contest held by Métis Local 1904. 

According to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, more than 150,000 children were forced to attend the church-run residential schools between 1931 and 1996. Although an exact number is not known, thousands of youth died at the schools and many suffered from different types of abuse. 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has concluded the schools were a "government-sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages."