Bruce County Launches 2025 Walk for Wenjack Series at Cape Croker Park
Bruce County begins its 2025 Walk for Wenjack series on August 14 in Neyaashiinigmiing, honouring Chanie Wenjack and promoting reconciliation through community walks and film screenings.
Bruce County will launch its 2025 Walk for Wenjack series on Thursday, August 14, at Cape Croker Park in Neyaashiinigmiing. Community members are invited to gather at the Arbour at 1 p.m. for a meaningful walk in reflection and solidarity.
This marks the beginning of Bruce County’s annual participation in the national Walk for Wenjack initiative, an effort that honours the memory of Chanie Wenjack and encourages ongoing learning and action on the path to reconciliation.
Led by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF), the Walk for Wenjack initiative commemorates the life of Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 while trying to return home after escaping the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora.
His story, which came to national attention decades later, remains a powerful symbol of the lasting impacts of Canada’s residential school system.
Walk for Wenjack events offer a space for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to come together to reflect, listen, learn, and take meaningful steps toward reconciliation.
The Bruce County series continues in October during Secret Path Week, a national movement held annually from October 17 to 22 to honour the legacies of Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack. Walks will take place in communities across the region:
Wiarton on Friday, October 17 at Bluewater Park
Kincardine on Saturday, October 18 at Station Beach
Southampton on Monday, October 20 at the Fairy Lake Pavilion
and Walkerton on Tuesday, October 21 at Riverbend Park.
All walks begin at 1 p.m. and are free to attend. Light refreshments will be available, and attendees are encouraged to bring donations for the Nawash Food Bank. The first 10 donors at each event will receive a gift from DWF.
In addition to the walks, Bruce County will host public screenings of The Secret Path, the animated film adaptation of the album by Gord Downie and the graphic novel by Downie and Jeff Lemire. The film tells the story of Chanie Wenjack’s journey through music and visual storytelling, giving voice to a history that for too long remained unheard.
Screenings are scheduled for:
Friday, October 17 at 3:30 p.m. at the Bruce County Public Library’s Wiarton Branch
Monday, October 20 at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre
and Tuesday, October 21 at 3 p.m. at the Walkerton Branch of the Bruce County Public Library.
All screenings are free, and pre-registration is encouraged to ensure seating.
Walk for Wenjack events in Bruce County are made possible through collaboration with Cape Croker Park, the Ktaamgwedaagwad Gindasswin Adult Learning Centre, Nawash Chief and Council, Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Bruce County Public Library, the Municipality of Kincardine, the Municipality of Brockton, and Bruce Power.
The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund was established to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Inspired by Chanie’s story and Gord Downie’s call to action, the fund works to improve the lives of Indigenous people through awareness, education, and meaningful connection.
Secret Path Week, held annually between the dates of Gord Downie’s and Chanie Wenjack’s passing, serves as a reminder of the work still to be done in acknowledging Canada’s history and committing to change.
Bruce County is located within the traditional territory of the Saugeen Anishnaabek and maintains a government-to-government relationship with the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation and Saugeen First Nation, known together as the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
More than 77,000 people call the region home, and events like the Walk for Wenjack serve as an opportunity for the broader community to listen, learn, and walk together in the spirit of truth and reconciliation.
For more information and updates on the Walk for Wenjack series, visit www.brucemuseum.ca/event/walk-for-wenjack.