An orange wave of support did not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Drivers and passengers that were part of a caravan of vehicles rolling through downtown Salmon Arm around noon on Thursday, July 1, were met with waves, signs and shouts of support.
The slow rolling blockade was travelling from the Splatsin Community Centre in Enderby towards the former Kamloops Indian Residential School to raise awareness and call for justice for the 215-plus Indigenous children discovered buried at the site.
To support the travellers, Salmon Arm’s Kristine Wickner and Sylvia Lindgren put out word on social media Wednesday, asking people to show up dressed in orange. Both were impressed by the turnout.
“All our friends and their friends showed up and it’s just been a really great experience. And we could tell, when the group went by… they were really appreciative we were here,” said Lindgren.
Most among the caravan could be seen smiling in response, while a few appeared to have been moved to tears by the show of support.
Read more: Block-long ‘every child matters’ mural in Vancouver to stay 2 years past Canada Day
Read more: PHOTOS: Westbank First Nation drops banners to honour residential school victims on Canada Day
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Sylvia Lindgren and Kristine Wickner were the co-organizers of a gathering on July 1, Canada Day, that lined a block of the Trans-Canada Highway in Salmon Arm to show support for the caravan or rolling blockade from the Splatsin Community Centre to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in support of those who survived the institution. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
Orange shirts, and flowers, were on display along Highway 1 in downtown Salmon Arm by people who gathered to show support for a caravan of vehicles on its way to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on July 1. (Lachlan Labere - Salmon Arm Observer)
A caravan, or rolling blockade of vehicles, on its way to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, receives waves and shouts of support as it passes through downtown Salmon Arm along Highway 1 about noon on July 1. (Lachlan Labere - Salmon Arm Observer)
Orange shirts and signs were on display along Highway 1 in downtown Salmon Arm by people who gathered to show support for a caravan of vehicles on its way to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on July 1. (Lachlan Labere - Salmon Arm Observer)
Orange shirts and signs were on display along Highway 1 in downtown Salmon Arm by people who gathered to show support for a caravan of vehicles on its way to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on July 1. (Lachlan Labere-Salmon Arm Observer)
A caravan or rolling blockade of vehicles travels through Salmon Arm about noon on July 1, waving to supporters along the Trans-Canada Highway between Alexander and Ross streets on its way to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
Tara Willard sings with other drummers as more than 100 people line the Trans-Canada Highway about noon on July 1 to show solidarity with a rolling blockade or caravan on the way to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
More than 100 people lined both sides of the Trans-Canada Highway between Alexander and Ross Street on July 1 to show support for a rolling blockade travelling from the Splatsin Community Centre to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in support of those who survived the institution. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
