Orange Crosswalk and Indigenous Art Walk

The City of Burlington, working in collaboration with Indigenous community partners, has installed an orange crosswalk at the intersection of Lakeshore Road and Nelson Avenue.  The crosswalk has been painted orange in honour of children of the residential school system.  This crosswalk acknowledges the strength and survival of residential school survivors, and honours the victims, their families and communities. 

In the coming month, an Indigenous themed art walk will be installed in Spencer Smith Park.  The City of Burlington public art program, with support of the Hamilton Halton Brant Tourism Relief Fund is installing a series of vinyl wraps on electrical boxes that will showcase the artwork of First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists.  Heading west, the art walk will end at Joseph Brant Museum, where artist David General has been commissioned to create a large-scale sculpture entitled Conversations and Stories (to be installed in late fall 2022). 

Burlington as we know it today is rich in history and modern traditions of many First Nations and the Métis. From the Anishinaabeg to the Haudenosaunee, and the Métis – our lands spanning from Lake Ontario to the Niagara Escarpment are steeped in Indigenous history. ​

​The territory is mutually covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy, the Ojibway and other allied Nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.

We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

We encourage residents to visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website for educational materials and resources.