Every Child Matters Memorial at City Hall

Peterborough, ON – A display to raise awareness of the history of the residential school system in Canada, the impact on its survivors, and the Indigenous children who never returned home has been set up in the Peterborough City Hall main foyer.

The display features two sets of shoes from the Every Child Matters temporary living memorial that was on the front steps of City Hall beginning in late May 2021. Community members placed children’s shoes and other symbolic items on the steps of City Hall after a ground-penetrating radar survey found over 200 potential burial sites on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. The discovery sparked a national movement with similar memorials being created in communities across Canada.

Before the memorial on the steps of City Hall was removed on April 24, 2025, a smudging ceremony was performed with smoke directed over the shoes and the items in the memorial. Smudging is an Indigenous practice that involves the burning of one or more of sweetgrass, sage, cedar and tobacco in a ceremonial way.

The tobacco ties and offerings left at the memorial will be committed to a sacred fire, and the stones and wooden vessel will be returned to the land. The act of burning tobacco ties in a sacred fire is a way to send prayers and intentions to the Creator, while returning the stones and the vessel to the land symbolizes respect for Mother Earth.
The shoes from the memorial outside City Hall will cared for at the Peterborough Museum and Archives as the City works with the urban Indigenous community on the next steps for the remaining items from the memorial.

An informational section on the Cultural Services website is being created and will be launched in a few weeks.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children passed through Canadian residential schools between their opening in around 1883 and their closing in 1996. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission states reconciliation is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. In order for that to happen, there must be awareness of the past, an acknowledgement of harm, and action to change behaviour.  

Former residential school students can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports from the Government of Canada.

Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis intervention.

Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or visit hopeforwellness.ca to connect to the online chat.

Visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Commission to learn more about the tragic legacy of residential schools, the experiences of families and Survivors as well as the 94 Calls to Action.