Vancouver reconciliation walk draws thousands

Huge turnout for the Walk for Reconciliation Thousands of people took part in the annual walk in Vancouver.

Thousands joined the annual Walk for Reconciliation in downtown Vancouver Sunday, a two-kilometre walk that aims to build better relationships among Indigenous peoples and all other Canadians.

Chief Wayne Sparrow from the Musqueam Nation said he views the walk as an opportunity to educate Vancouverites.

"A lot of people in the general public don't even know about residential schools and some of the effects it had on our communities," he said. "A lot of them didn't know that our language got taken away from us and that our community members didn't come home."

The first reconciliation walk in Vancouver happened in 2013.

B.C. Premier John Horgan attended the walk this year, and said he was proud to take part.

"It's a pivotal time in our relationships. It's a time for shared prosperity. And this walk is about reconciliation, respect and acknowledging rights,” he said.

“I'm just delighted to be part of it.”

Sparrow pointed to language revitalization programs in his community as successful examples of reconciliation at work. He said he can't speak the traditional Musqueam language, but that young people who have been taking classes can.

"We have to put money towards programs that keep our culture thriving," he said.