On June 11 students from the Nipisihkopahk Elementray School and Maskwacis community members participated in the Our Dreams Matter Too walk. This walk in Maskwacis was organized by Kasohkohwew Child Wellness Society. All of the students involved wrote letters to Prime Minister Harper and walked them from the Samson Band Office to the Post Office in the Ermineksin Mall. This event was part of the 4th annual day of awareness.
This campaign was launched in 2011 by the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (the Caring Society), Our Dreams Matter Too is an annual walk and letter writing event aimed at supporting culturally based equity for First Nations children.
Children living on reserve receive less funding for government services like education, health care, and child welfare than all other children in Canada. This makes it hard for them to achieve their dreams and grow up feeling proud of who they are.
Our Dreams Matter Too is about showing the federal government that people in Canada want First Nations children to receive the same opportunity to succeed as all other children, in ways that respect their cultures and languages.
June 11th is the National Day of Reconciliation in Canada, marking the sixth anniversary of Prime Minister Harper’s 2008 apology for the wrongs committed against Aboriginal people by Canada’s residential school system. Despite the apology, First Nations children continue to receive unequal access to vital government services like education and health care.
The event in Maskwacis collected a total of 518 letters from students and community members.