Walk for Wenjack Events in Wiarton and Southampton

Bruce County, along with their valuable community partners, invite you to participate in Walk for Wenjack events on Friday, October 18, 2024 at Bluewater Park in Wiarton (1:00 PM) and on Monday, October 21, 2024 at the Fairy Lake Pavilion in Southampton (1:00 PM).

Everybody has their own reason to “Walk for Wenjack” during Secret Path Week (October 17 to October 22). For some, it may be a moment to honour Chanie Wenjack and the many others like him. For others, it may be an opportunity to raise awareness of the true history of residential schools.

Beginning in 2016, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund has been challenging all people in Canada to “Do Something” meaningful. Bruce County, along with their valuable community partners, invite you to participate in Walk for Wenjack events on Friday, October 18, 2024 at Bluewater Park in Wiarton (1:00 PM) and on Monday, October 21, 2024 at the Fairy Lake Pavilion in Southampton (1:00 PM). These events offer an opportunity to come together as a community, in the spirit of reconciliACTION, to walk, learn, and reflect on the more than 600 kilometers Chanie Wenjack needed to get home.

Please also join Secret Path Screenings at the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 10:30 AM and 6:00 PM. The Secret Path is an animated film adaptation of Gord Downie's album and Jeff Lemire's graphic novel. Working with Downie's poetry and music, Lemire has created a powerful visual representation of the life of Chanie Wenjack.

These are free admission events and refreshments are provided. Donations to the Nawash food bank will be accepted and the first 20 donations at each event will receive a prize from the Downie Wenjack Foundation.

In 1966, Chanie Wenjack ran away from Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora, Ontario. He walked for 36 hours along the train tracks before dying of exposure on October 22. He was just 12 years old. His death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in the residential school system. Chanie’s story, tragically, is like so many stories of Indigenous children in this country.

Walk for Wenjack events in Bruce County are hosted in partnership with Cape Croker Park, Kitaamgwedaagwad Gindasswin Adult Learning Centre, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Chief & Council, Bruce County, Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and Bruce Power.

For more information and event updates, please visit https://www.brucemuseum.ca/event/walk-for-wenjack/

Discover more about Chanie Wenjack: