Bridge leading to former residential school on Vancouver Island vandalized with racial slur – CBC

Riverbend Bridge near Port Alberni, B.C., was recently painted to say ‘Every child matters’

Oct 02, 2022

The Tseshaht First Nation is condemning an act of hate after a bridge leading to a former residential school on Vancouver Island was defaced with an anti-Indigenous slur on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

According to the First Nation, the incident happened around 10 p.m. on Friday at the Riverbend Bridge, known locally as the Orange Bridge, which crosses the Somass River in Port Alberni, B.C., at Highway 4 and Falls Street.

A barrier at the entrance to the bridge had been  painted with the slogan “Every Child Matters” — a reference to the thousands of children who died in federally run residential schools. On Friday, someone wrote over the word “child” and replaced it with a hateful slur against Indigenous people.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/port-alberni-bridge-defaced-1.6603528