Moccasins for Remembrance: Cycling to Every Saskatchewan Residential School

There has been a lot of attention on residential schools in Canada recently, exposing what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referred to as a “dark and shameful chapter of our country’s history.” For those who aren’t familiar with the Canadian Indian residential school system, residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools that were established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. The schools stripped the children of their identity, disrupted their family life, and had irreversible long-term effects on Indigenous peoples.

The recent discovery of the remains of 215 children at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, has called for accountability from the Catholic Church and the government, as well as reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. In support of this effort, B’yauling Toni devised a project in collaboration with the Orange Shirt Society to help raise money for the work they’re doing to further Indian Residential School Reconciliation, bring attention to the broader impacts of the inter-generational impacts of the schools, and raise awareness of the concept of “Every Child Matters.”

Describing his intentions for the trip, B’yauling said, “As a non-indigenous Canadian I feel it is my personal responsibility to provide restitution and strive towards reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada. I believe we all have a role to play and for me my personal platform is cycling.”

He plans to visit all 20 of the federally recognized residential schools in the province, riding solo and self-supported, leaving moccasins made by youth in Saskatoon through Chokecherry Studios, a local art non-profit that he partnered with for the trip. B’yauling has three main goals for the project:

• Raise money for the Orange Shirt Society: Donations help the Orange Shirt Society raise awareness across Canada about the Indian Residential Schools and their continuing impacts on individuals, families, and communities, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters.”
• Celebrate Indigenous Peoples and cultures in Saskatchewan: As I visit Indigenous communities across Saskatchewan, I will have the opportunity to meet and listen to community members from different nations and celebrate their culture, knowledge, and histories in an effort to build and strengthen relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
• Deliver moccasins to pay homage to the children who lived and died in residential schools in Saskatchewan, and in doing so spread awareness of the atrocities committed on children in the residential school system.

You can make a donation, learn about his ride, and see his tentative schedule here. And check out his planned route below.

At only 20 years old, B’yauling Toni is already quite an accomplished cyclist. In 2018, he rode 31,000 kilometres to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by bike unsupported. You can follow his journey via Instagram (@byaulingtoni).

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