Statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II have been toppled in Canada amid growing outrage over the treatment of indigenous peoples.
Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II toppled in Canada during protests
Protesters in Winnipeg chanted “no pride in genocide” before toppling the statues of the monarchs.
The protests come as a Canadian indigenous group recently discovered 182 human remains in unmarked Canadian indigenous graves at a boarding school.
More than 150,000 native children were forced to attend state-run Christian schools. It is believed that around 6,000 youngsters died in these schools as a result of being subjected to rape, beatings, verbal abuse and malnutrition.
Today’s finding adds to the growing number of unmarked burial sites discovered near residential schools across Canada. Words always seem to fall short at moments like this. But to the Ktunaxa Nation and Indigenous peoples across the country, know that we’re here for you.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 30, 2021
In addition, students were housed in poorly constructed, poorly heated and unhygienic facilities. The schools were first opened under the reign of Queen Victoria and closed in the 1970s.
The tearing down of the statues took place on July 1, Canada Day. This is an annual celebration commemorating the founding of the country by the British colonies in 1867.
Prior to toppling the statues, the statue of Queen Victoria was daubed with red paint, while protesters also left a sign reading “we were children.”
The British government has condemned the toppling of the statues. “Our thoughts are with Canada’s Indigenous community following these tragic discoveries and we are following these issues closely and continue to engage with the government of Canada on Indigenous issues,” they added.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to comment publicly on the toppling of the statues.
Meanwhile, people reacted to the statue toppling on Twitter and shared their thoughts on the protest.
Demonstrators toppled statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth in Winnipeg this afternoon during rallies honouring the children discovered in unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools over the past month. pic.twitter.com/Zx0aqPGcOW
— APTN News (@APTNNews) July 2, 2021
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