Orange shirts flood downtown Winnipeg for commemorative powwow and walk

Thousands of people clad in orange flowed through Winnipeg's downtown Friday in honour of the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Among them was Riley Brown, from Manitou Rapids, also known as Rainy River First Nation, in northwestern Ontario, who now lives in Winnipeg.

Brown wore a shawl she was gifted that bears the handprints of her fellow schoolmates from her Grade 12 class she just graduated from.

For her, it represents "the residential school survivors and those who didn't make it home."

Brown's mother is a survivor.

"I'm pretty much wearing this for her and everyone else."

Last year, Brown was among roughly 10,000 people who took part in the walk, but this year, organizers from the Way-Say Healing Centre were hoping for double that.

"Compared to last year, there's a lot more attention and awareness," said Wayne Mason, the executive director of the healing centre.

"Within the last month or two, a lot of people have been coming forward and saying, 'What can I do? We're going to have the day off. Where do I get an orange shirt?'"

The tone of the pipe ceremony, survivors' walk and powwow isn't exactly clear or straightforward, said Mason.

"It's a time to celebrate, a time to awaken everybody, to learn, to educate themselves on what had happened in these Indian residential schools and the survivors and the children that didn't make it home, so all these things are going to make it very emotional," he said.

That rings true for retired Cpl. Melvin Swan, who is an elder.

Although it's not yet recognized as a provincial statutory holiday in Manitoba, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is recognized federally as one.

"It doesn't feel like holiday because every day is a struggle trying to get the culture back intact, the language, the ceremonies and recognizing where we came from," Swan said.