TOWN STATEMENT Day 2021 -June 29, 2021- The Town is heartbroken by the news of the additional 751 unmarked Indigenous graves found on the grounds of a former residential school in last week. Our flags are currently lowered at Town Hall in honour of their lives.

The Town is supportive of the Niagara Regional Native Centre, and all Indigenous people during this time of grief. We mourn with them and are determined to support their efforts to raise awareness and see a change made for this generation of Indigenous people, and for generations to come.

While we recognize that we cannot bring back those whose lives were taken too soon, we as a country and as individuals can acknowledge the truth about the injustices Indigenous peoples have faced, and continue to face, and can honour the memory of the lives lost.

On this Canada Day, we choose to recognize the contributions the residents, soldiers, and peoples of this region made to the development of Canada. They gave so much and yet so much was taken from them.

However you choose to celebrate Canada Day this year, consider spending time reflecting on the trauma felt and experienced by Indigenous people and educate yourself on their great contributions to Canada’s history.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is incredibly proud to be the home of the Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations and Native Allies Commemorative Memorial, a unique memorial site, identified and offered by The Niagara Parks Commission. Created to acknowledge the courage, sacrifice, and contribution of Indigenous people, this memorial is located on the lands of Queenston Heights and is intended to serve as an educational beacon illuminating the critically important contributions Indigenous peoples made to Canada during its formative years.

We, this generation of , have the opportunity to lead change. We can raise our voices in support of all Ingenious people by acknowledging their hardship, sharing in their mourning, and understanding their contributions.

The Town invites all residents to join in this journey of honouring, reflecting, and learning.