Every Child Matters Crosswalks
Vaughan Public Libraries
Innovation Synopsis
Remembering our shared past allows us to create a fairer, more inclusive society in the present. The Canadian residential school system forcibly separated families with the goal of achieving better integration of Indigenous communities into broader Canadian society. Rather than celebrating our differences and seeing them as strengths, it tried to hammer them out and in doing so, caused untold hardship, with scars still visible today.
It is important that the memories of this legacy are not lost so that we can remember the victims and avoid repeating these mistakes again. To further reconciliation within the city of Vaughan, the library worked with Indigenous partners to install two ‘Every Child Matters’ crosswalks linking the Civic Centre Resource Library to the main pedestrian walkway to City Hall. The Crosswalks serve as visible reminders of our past and spark hope for a better future.
Challenge/Opportunity
The ‘Every Child Matters’ movement centers on acknowledging and addressing the historical and ongoing impacts of residential schools on Indigenous children and communities. The residential school system separated more than 150,000 children from their families, often placing them hundreds of miles away from home. The ill treatment of the indigenous community was investigated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which unearthed horrific evidence of abuse and suffering, estimating that over 6,000 children died at the schools until they finally closed in 1996.
Vaughan Public Libraries stands on the historical lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee, and our city is home to many First Nations, Inuit and Metis people. As such, it is our responsibility to bring our community together in remembrance, while also building a brighter shared future. We explore these themes year round but wanted to work together to on a permanent memorial.
Key Elements of Innovation
Reconciliation is a collaborative effort, and Vaughan Public Libraries highlights Indigenous issues throughout the year, both in programming and readers’ advisory. However, we wanted the crosswalks to be a permanent and visible symbol of this work and what we are trying to achieve as a community. We partnered with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation to develop a culturally sensitive design for the crosswalks. Chief Stacey LaForme of the Mississaugas was invited to attend, as were representatives of all levels of government.
To draw added attention to the crosswalk unveiling and to tie it in more closely with the idea of what it means to be Canadian, we hosted a Citizenship Ceremony in the library in the morning, with the crosswalk event in the afternoon. At the citizenship event, Chief LaForme conducted a smudging ceremony to cleanse and prepare the room, before addressing our newest Canadians and what it means to belong and be a citizen.
Achieved Outcomes
Measuring the impact of this kind of initiative hinges upon changing attitudes and long-term positive effects in society. The crosswalk unveiling had 117 attendees, and the two crosswalks have been on display since late September 2023 in a high visibility area. Every day, several thousand people will either use or see these crosswalks as they enter the Civic Centre Resource Library. It provides an opportunity for every one of these visitors to reflect on our past and consider how we can do better in our present.
These crosswalks have been installed, they represent just one phase of our ongoing reconciliation efforts, which have included raising awareness of indigenous cultures and their practices, opening events and meeting with land acknowledgements (also included on all website location pages), and celebration National Indigenous History month. Once again, the Mississaugas have been invited to welcome new Canadians at an upcoming Citizenship Ceremony in the library.
