Krista Fox with a memorial of 215 pairs of shoes to represent the children who did not make it home. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Remembering the children

Memorial project honours 215 children found buried at former Kamloops residential school site

Jun 2, 2021 | 4:04 PM

Battlefords community supporter Krista Fox collected 215 pairs of shoes for a memorial display to remember all the 215 children found buried at the former Kamloops residential school site recently.

Fox said it took her just two days to gather the shoes received from donations.

“Sunday morning [May 30] I woke up with the 215 children on my mind and my heart, and I knew I needed to do something,” Fox said.

She asked local area residents to come together, and if they had extra shoes to drop them off at her home in North Battleford.

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When the memorial was complete and all the shoes were lined up on her front lawn on 11th Avenue near 107th Street, Fox said. Her husband Ray, a member of Sweetgrass First Nation, then came out and smudged. He said a prayer for the children’s souls to make it home.

Krista said the tragedy is heartbreaking.

“We just need to start acknowledging, start going back to where these residential schools were, because I’m sure this isn’t the last,” she said.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow