An estimated 300 people watched the ceremonial inauguration of the Seven Feathers crosswalk on Albert Street on Thursday – the first Truth and Reconciliation Day. The road was closed for the event from Division to Third and starting at noon, several people spoke about the atrocities of the residential school system and the promises to First Nations that have been broken. Tracey Vaughan, the Town’s CAO, did a superb job as MC and introduced Jessica Outram, Poet Laureate, Chief Dave Mowat, Mayor John Henderson, MPP David Piccini and Elder Stephen Pashagumskum. Each spoke about the failed promises and the need for learning and reconciliation. The seven feathers crosswalk was finished only a short time before the event and represents the seven Indigenous values of Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Humility, Truth and Wisdom.
Most people were masked and some were seated in chairs set up on the road.
Before the event, local indigenous people performed a smudging ceremony which uses smoke from sacred plants (cedar, sage, sweetgrass, tobacco) to cleanse themselves.
Apart from the introductory remarks by CAO Tracey Vaughan and the poem by Jessica Outram, three speakers were especially notable:
- Chief Dave Mowat. Dave thanked the crowd for their turnout and said that the Government had failed to live up to their promises.
- Mayor John Henderson. Visibly emotional, John said that this was “One of the most important days in my term”.
- Elder Stephen Pashagumskum spoke eloquently about how children had been taken from their families – in his experience via a float plane. He described how mothers would then not see their children again until years later when the plane would return with the children. But in some cases, the child the waiting mother hoped for, did not get off the plane. He said that the Anglican Church frowned on Indian names but said that he didn’t like to talk about his horrible experiences. He said “All those memories I’ve had to carry but today I want to celebrate”. Part way through his speech, he said that “I’m not very steady” so he had to sit. When he was finished, he received a long standing ovation.
At no point did anyone talk about compensation to First Nations people – the emphasis was on learning.
See the photos below and the links below them for more.
Links
- Report on this event by Bill Hornbostel at Cobourg Now – More details about event.
- Quotes – as reported by CTV News
- National Film Board A selection of films by Indigenous filmmakers and allies about the tragic impact of residential schools in Canada.
- The History of Residential Schools
Addendum – Oct 5
The paint job was obviously poor since today it was so badly deteriorated that the Town scrubbed it away. Before they did, Wally Keeler took a photo (at right). But it’s only temporary – it will be repainted and regularly maintained.
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This whole debacle has the look and feel of an episode of Parks and Recreation.
Cobourg CAO, Tracy Vaughn, blamed the weather for the Seven Feather ruination. The Town had ample days beforehand to do it right. The orange pilons were set down two days before any work was done. The CAO was responsible for this debacle and did not prepare for it in a timely fashion. It was a rushed job. A CAO should know these things? Did she consult with the experts at the Art Gallery of Northumberland about the suitability of putting a commemoration on street pavement for vehicles to wipe their tires on. She told Pete Fisher, “The crosswalk will also be built into our annual maintenance budget to ensure it remains well taken care in the future.”
Well, taxpayers paid for the crosswalk, Then the taxpayers paid for the cleanup of the crosswalk, and 5 days later taxpayers will pay for it all over again, and they will pay year after year after year after, to restore it after its defacement by vehicles wiping their dirty tires on it.
Wally:
I agree that the CAO is responsible. She has overall responsibility for ALL of the Town’s operations, expenses and capital projects. However, the department directors are directly responsible for the operation of their department. In this case, Works dept Director Wills bears the primary responsibility. Scapegoating is not acceptable. CAO vaughan and Dir Wills should step up and take ownership of the problem and be accountable.
I self-deleted; I was trying to post a picture of the crosswalk and failed.
I don’t know how to do that either
it’s easy
Of course it is when you know. But Wally Keeler and Gerald Childs do not know. Thanks for your unhelpful chide!
FYI. Frenchy just used a URL that identified a jpeg file – in this case one on this site. So you can insert a jpeg already on a site somewhere. Or you can use the “insert image feature” – see the icon at bottom right of your comment entry box. That’s what I am using here. If it’s abused, I will disable it.
Nope, nothing on the bottom right of this comment box. Oh well.
OH Lookie lookie, Cobourg made the news on the APTN, the First Nations News Network. I just sent them the photo I have of the ruined Seven Feathers Crosswalk. 7 feathers crosswalk unveiled in Ontario town of Coburg (aptnnews.ca)
The laying down of the Seven Feathers Crosswalk to the applause of 300 residents, all shiny and pristine, the feathers glistening with luminescence and everyone feeling good about themselves. Everyone trusted that Public Works knew what they were doing when they went to work applying the art to the pavement. After all, they apply the blue disability symbol to pavement all the time. They also last a long time. But not this crosswalk. Is Public Works this inept? What went wrong? Was it because of the haste caused by no lead time, and the deadline only days away to organize, and some oversight occurred? Did any Town Councillor stop to think about the optics of vehicles driving over top of a work of art that embodies such a profound cultural expression, that demands more dignity than being a mat for vehicles to wipe their tires on. Talk about cultural insensitivity. Did any Councillor run it past the experts in aesthetics at the Art Gallery of Northumberland to ascertain the implications of painting the cultural icons on a crosswalk?
Same goes for the well-intentioned rainbow crosswalk, too, of course.
Seems a bit naïve to deliberately paint your flag on the pavement so everyone can walk and drive all over it.
Maybe the rainbow painted crosswalk is intended for crossing to the dark side.
It has not been a week and the Seven Feathers crosswalk is looking very ragged and quite unendurable. All that pomp and ceremony organized in haste brought this national disgrace to the streets of Cobourg. Go down there now and look at it. Take a picture of it. Post it. It is a prime example of how not to do things. What a debacle!
Drove by the crosswalk this afternoon and some of the feathers have been damaged by cars. Now we have to pay town employees to repaint them. How many times will we have to repair the feathers?
This is the letter I sent to Cobourg Town Council an hour ago with an attached photo of the crosswalk.
================
Dear Town Council;
I want to show you the damage already done to the painted crosswalk. It is regrettable and abundantly unfortunate. Such a wonderful display of a beautifully sublime project. It was simple and pure and clean, seven virtues, virtue signalling at its best. The evocative image of seven luminous feathers deserves all the honour and dignity that we give to the Cenotaph. But to lay it down on the street where tires of all kinds can ride rough shod over it, where feet trample it underfoot. And now look at it. Did anyone think about optics?
Our mayor said, “Our council has been working extremely diligently with staff to build a bridge with Alderville First Nation, and in fact, all indigenous communities.”
Here’s an idea. Lobby Via Rail to permit their underpass on Division Street to be painted orange and the Seven Feathers be painted on the pillars. The luminous feathers will reflect all the headlights as vehicles go by. Feathers on a pillar, seven virtues holding up the bridge. Mighty strong and powerful feathers, just like the virtues themselves. A bridge unifies. A bridge is the reconciliation of two sides.
There is no need to build a bridge, just a need to paint one appropriately. The paint job will last longer than on a crosswalk. The painting of the underpass will remain clean longer. It will not require annual restoration or perhaps even weekly repairs as per the Seven Feathers crosswalk which now lays in disgrace because of haste and the eagerness to display political virtues.
Would you paint the Canadian flag on the street for vehicles to run over it and people to trample it?
The Seven Feather group might better lobby VIA rail to paint an underpass orange and paint the feathers on the pillars. The white luminescent feathers would reflect light from every passing vehicle. The Seven Virtues hold up the bridge with feather weight lightness. How uplifting, rather than being trampled and run over. And the image would last much longer. And the image would remain cleaner longer. VIA Rail would get a tax write-off for sponsoring this project. VIA can contract a local First Nations team to paint the underpass. The Seven Feathers Project can be a symbol of unity, but it is about location, location, location. A crosswalk is not the location for such a beautiful and profound cultural expression. I would love to see white luminescent feathers on bridge pillars across the nation. Make their presence as ubiquitous as church steeples, or golden arches. Bridges unify things. Make the feathers strong and powerful, like the virtues, upholding unity across the nation.
Mayor John Henderson said it himself, “Our council has been working extremely diligently with staff to build a bridge with Alderville First Nation, and in fact, all indigenous communities,”
Next time, colour a bridge.
At first I liked your idea Mr. Keeler putting the feathers on the bridge, but in hindsight, I really don’t want the luminescent feathers burned into my retina or the colors of the LGBTQ either. What’s wrong with a good speech to remember the past atrocities, never mind spending taxpayers $ on paint.
Is anyone going to comment on what they thought of the Cobourg event? I thought they did a great job, it was a very moving ceremony.
Whomever responded negatively, you don’t think it was a good ceremony???
I’m not LGBTQ or Indigenous, where’s my crosswalk. We are all the same, why do so many people think that “some” need recognizing. You people that complain about Trudeau, must not have anything better to do. Everyone deserves a vacation. He often goes to Tofino, he was there on vacation in 2018, it’s a beautiful place, many weddings are done there.
Tell me stories of heterosexual people who were slaughtered because of their sexual orientation. Tell me stories of white kids taken from their homes. Be thankful You don’t have to settle for less. That is probably why you don’t have a designated crossing.
What about all the white kids who were taken away and never returned and buried in unknown graves. Maybe they should have a crosswalk.
What concrete measures have you taken to make the lost and missing white children crosswalk a reality? Memorials need a lot of work to make it happen. The two in our Town took a lot of planning and went through the channels. Start a movement. How about it, Geo.
Trudeau Tofino vacation ‘more proof’ he doesn’t care about Indigenous rights
“He’s completely consumed by his own arrogance and his delusional sense of self-importance
What about my rights. Where’s my crosswalk. I want one done of the Canadian Flag right down the middle of the main street.
You dont need one. You have never been oppressed. Be thankful for that.
Nobody needs to recognized, we’re all the same. No one is any better than the next person.
The Veterans should surely have one. Look what they went through in all the wars.
The veterans do have one. It’s the Cenotaph. It is a memorial that is not run over by a wide assortment and diversity of vehicles. It is a memorial unsmeared by tire marks. It is located in a zone of respect. It stands erect and dignified in a public park. It doesn’t require annual restoration.
Hi Wally,
Thanks for the reminder. Perhaps this crosswalk project is the start of something more permanent. I recall that there was a public art entry on the theme of indigenous knowledge and symbolism using four pillars which was selected for inclusion as part of the Victoria Square (VS) project behind Victoria Hall. Unfortunately, the VS project has yet to be fully created and is continually chopped away for utilitarian purposes even though that outdoor space was historically integral to the story of local community. Hopefully the space will continue to take shape in projects over time. For example, the three flags on the south side of the new crosswalk painting were sponsored by the local Rotary club. Originally, the flags were to be on the north side of Albert Street but when Rotary proposed a flag pole on the south side, the three flag project became even better. On the south side it holds a prominent gateway location between the waterfront and main street.
Hi Miriam
The artist who drew up the Victoria Square is Stephen Cruise. His very first solo exhibition was in the Art Gallery of Northumberland in the early 70’s. One of his pieces was a wooden crate filled with blonde bricks, each wrapped in barbed-wire. Each brick bore the slogan. “In Advance of The Occupation”. We befriended each other and I was honoured with him giving me a barbed wire brick. That brick was to become an icon of the Peoples Republic of Poetry. He was a member of the A Space collective in Toronto, the oldest alternative gallery in the country. His work has largely focused on the organic. Here you can find some of his municipal commissions: Stephen Cruise
There is a section of the east pier, the last section leading out to the lighthouse. The crumbling walkway is lined on the east with a cement wall approx. five feet high. That wall should eventually be the location of the crosswalk designs and other beautiful murals. It is located at the gateway to the Town. It will be mildly pummeled by organic weather. Such memorials could be permanently integrated into the designs for the future east pier.
We already have a day of remembrance but thanks.
We need a crosswalk for all the veterans who fought in all the wars to keep us free. A nice walkway with poppies. They should not be left out. Don’t leave these men behind. We should also honour them with a crosswalk for all people to see. Agree with Tucker.
Go to Victoria Park, where you will find a beautifully positioned memorial to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. Wally’s answer above to Geo answers that question nicely.
Most children of today don’t know what the war was let alone what the cenotaph is there for. If everyone is so adamant in keeping things that happened many years ago pressed into our minds, with their crosswalks, then yes, by all means, paint another one of poppies and see what questions the children of today ask. “What is this for?” But they all know how to “play” on their phones.
Whose fault is it that the children today don’t know what the cenotaph means? The parents, that responsibility falls directly on them. Remembrance day was taught in school until about the late eighties, then it was removed from the school curriculum after some said it glorified war.
Gerald, education may not be the answer to preserving the past. Today’s children know the achievements of many Canadian heroes — Sir John A., Egerton Ryerson and Arthur Williams. They want to destroy statues because of their education and their parent’s values.
The Cenotaph is in Victoria Park and not part of daily life except for one day a year.mainly.
Unless one goes to the park and beach it is low profile.
I’m aware veterans are not in large numbers here but their past /present service and sacrifices made /make it possible for the present freedom you all enjoy.
Lest We Forget.
A crosswalk of poppies for people to walk over? How dignified would that be? That is no honour. Quite the opposite GEO.
At the intersection of Albert/Third a freshly poured crosswalk recently occurred. The cement was coloured burgundy. Instead they could have poured orange cement. With the stencils, they could have cut out one 3/8″ wooden feather, attach it to a slab of plywood, lube it all up, then press into the wet cement. The white luminous paint could then be poured into the 3/8″ feather recess. When the snow plow runs over it, there will be no paint particles scrapped off because the paint is recessed and if the crosswalk gets a chip broken off, the orange remains. There will be no need for annual restoration and expen$e.
You want a flag right down the middle of the main street? Why do you want dump trucks, garbage trucks, utility trucks, cars and cars by the thousands and thousands running over top of it? Why do you want people to walk all over it? Disgusting suggestion.
Here is a video of students at Beheshti University of Tehran refusing to walk over U.S., Israel flags, and boo people who do. Even in this situation where the mullah’s thugs painted the flags with the intended purpose of students walking over top of them and using the resulting images for propaganda purposes. The students refused to be exploited this way. They honoured the flags by not walking over it. https://youtu.be/C97o_tue4b0
Well, Mr. Keeler, you just answered your own question. Why paint anything anywhere. Do people “hop, skip and jump” or “fly” over the painted crosswalks now??? Why even paint the crosswalks and who came up with this idea in the first place. Wouldn’t a small plaque somewhere be more permanent and less costly to maintain in the future.
The advantage of painting crosswalks is that it is not permanent. Painted crosswalks will be long gone before a future generation decides that they violate then current moral standards and must be destroyed. I wonder how long the Victoria Park Cenotaph will be allowed to stand…
It represents ephemerality. The Seven Feathers was placed there to be run over and trampled on, because that represents how Canadians feel about the crosswalk, what Canadians did to the First Nations people, run over and trample their culture with a “superior” culture. And now you suggest painting the Canadian flag so that we can trample and run over it because we don’t care about our own culture. It is about optics. What do you see?
Suggesting that the Cenotaph will be brought down by a future generation is paranoid fantasy. It is a notion as stupid as the Biden admin’s assertion that the Jan6 civilian riot was the worst thing to happen since the civil war. Every year that I have attended the Remembrance Day ceremonies, Cobourgers have turned out by the hundreds, if not over a thousand on some occasions. You can bet that there will be a lot of local warriors preventing the toppling of cenotaphs. I would drive my scooter into any group trying to topple that memorial and hit them on the head with my Hurry-Cane. Yep, violence to prevent violence.
Statues have been toppled across Canada on numerous occasions. They topple politicians. Politicians come and go. No Canadians gather around those statues of politicians for any reason. They were erected by political hacks for political reasons. But not Cenotaphs. Where is there a single example of a Cenotaph being attacked? Where is there a single suggestion by any Canadian anywhere at any time who suggests the Cenotaph be attacked?
Three years ago there was a black swastika painted on the Cenotaph along with other black paint marks.
I reported it to the police and PW ,who came down used some cleaner on it that removed the black but not the shadows of them .
I contacted them again and it all then was removed..
It was described as a hate crime but I never heard anymore about it.
That was the act of a stupid and malevolent actor or two. It was not the front line of a movement, as were the other political statues.
“Where is there a single example of a Cenotaph being attacked? Where is there a single suggestion by any Canadian anywhere at any time who suggests the Cenotaph be attacked?”
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Feds furious at Toronto war monument vandalism
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
“Letters from a special inscription were cracked off the memorial and the statue was covered in blue duct tape…It was the second year in a row that the statue was vandalized in the days leading up to Remembrance Day…”
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/
Sword taken from Malvern Collegiate’s First World War memorial, police investigate“…video surveillance camera shows a group of youth gathered outside the building…and removing the blade of the sword from the statue…”
NEWS SEP 05, 2014 BEACH MIRROR
Judge smiles as antiwar trio leave courtroomPUBLISHED JUNE 20, 2000
“Anglican priest Dan Heap, 74, Roman Catholic Basilian priest Bob Holmes, 63, and Catholic lay activist Leonard Desroches, 52…were arrested on Good Friday last year as they started to climb over a fence…with ladders, a crowbar, 50 supporters and the stated intention of chipping part of the sword out of the Cross…”
“Defence counsel Peter Rosenthal submitted a letter of support for the trio from U.S. Vietnam War resister and former priest Philip Berrigan, 76. The letter was written from a Maryland prison…”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/files/cem/logos/GMLogo.svg
Spread out over 20 years. Once every seven years. That’s not a movement.
Dan Heap was NDP, MP in my riding. His wife, Alice, was txhe coordinator of Alexandra Park Housing Co-operative.
Another sophomoronic question. Why paint the front veranda? Why paint the Mona Lisa?
It would be beneficial if more people, especially adult people, would hop skip or jump more often anywhere instead of posturing as everyman. So we have the disgusting idea of painting our Canadian flag on the street so that Canadians can feel proud as vehicle after vehicke runs over it. Sorry, but I can’t get behind that idea. nor can I get behind you idea that the Cenotaph should be a small plaque. You really know how to diminish our proud symbols. Try a good idea for a change.
It was a nice ceremony, as far as our leader why the surprise , the election is over , the usual promises will be broken guess he never had a costume for the occasion, you can’t fix stupid
Tofino is situated in a traditional territory of the First Nations, where all is connected, and is an ideal location to reflect, to respect and to instill truth to one’s children- just as we and others are doing regardless of our public or private locations.
That has to be the absolutely the best excuse I have ever read, u got me I give up :))))))) have a great day
Where was the September 30th participation, anywhere, of two Church Organizations that were at the core of the tragedies? The day, like Remembrance Day, is a somber one.
The Catholic Church should cough up some money to pay the families back. After the CERB payouts Canada is in debt up to their eyeballs and now Trudeau wants to give billions of dollars to the Indigenous people. How about giving some money to our veterans who surely need it.
“The Canadian government operated Indian residential schools in partnership with the Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches, among others.” (Overview of the Indian Residential School System, p2) If you wish to lay blame, don’t be too selective and mention only one of the religions involved. There is plenty of accountability for all.
What better location to reflect than at a rented $18 million seaside mansion, while on vacation in a surfing paradise, all paid for by the taxpayer’s of Canada? Totally tone deaf and extremely disrespectful.
How do you know that the taxpayers paid for it? Are you the Budget person for the Gov’t. Don’t make “suggestive” remarks if you don’t know the exact truth.
I dont think there is a “budget person” lol
Who do you think footed the bill for the challenger jet to get him there? Who do you think is paying for his RCMP security detail? And by the way, there is no “budget person” because, (as per Justin Trudeau), “the budget will balance itself”.
Well, there must be someone who writes the cheques for the Gov’t and someone who can add 2 and 2, the budget doesn’t just miraculously balance itself, being a bookkeeper, I can tell you that. It really doesn’t matter who is in power, Trudeau or “Joe Blow” off the street” the people will ultimately pay. You must be Conservative.
And your contradictory and convoluted reply means you must be Liberal.
balance it’s self? by 2070!
Great ceremony!! Beautiful crosswalk! I hope it doesn’t wash away in a few weeks into the creek and harbour. Did anyone mention Trudeau is surfing in Tofino on this very important day and lying about it, saying he is in private meetings in Ottawa?
Where was our MP Philip Lawrence. Orono. Again. Never around.
Maybe he wasn’t invited!
He was invited
It’s a fact he was invited how can you respond negatively🤦♂️
I’m pretty sure he wasn’t surfing in Tofino.
For truth, courage, wisdom, honesty… this day of Truth and Reconciliation should be led by Indigenous People, not politicians. Their participation on September 30th was the best part of Cobourg’s Event.
Perhaps his true meaning of the day he named Truth and Reconciliation Day was for the subject that his faithful media and followers never mention..
That being with his wife and family ,who since Covid -19 began moved out, never seen nor even more strangely, mentioned /questioned by the media ,except for the now more recent photo shoots.
The unnecessary exorbitant costly to taxpayers election is over, but even his media this time has been obligated to report his “missing in action” on this supposedly very important holiday that he declared..
Of course he’ll be forgiven as usual by the faithful who “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” when it comes to his behaviour.
Strange days we live in.
We need less talk and ceremonies from all of the leaders, present and absent, and more action on this topic of Truth and Reconciliation (that has been lacking long before any of them).
Why the off- handed comment about the paint was it really necessary?
Concerned, aren’t you concerned that the poisonous paint will pollute our harbour?
😂
I would be more concerned about the overuse of salt, in the winter, on the roads in Cobourg, especially around the harbour. The sewer grates on Third St used to have a stencilled fish on the grate. And a sign that stated those sewers flushed into the lake. All that salt over time washed directly into the lake is a more pressing concern.
The clear wrong of excess salt does not excuse adding paint to the pollution.
Taxpayer, the feathers are already blowing in the wind. Go down and take a look. The rain isn’t helping.
Cobourg Taxpayer said, “Great ceremony!! Beautiful crosswalk! I hope it doesn’t wash away in a few weeks into the creek and harbour.”
A few weeks?! It only took four days.