Indigenous community calls for removal of John A. Macdonald statue in Gore Park

Over the weekend, local Indigenous peoples gathered in Hamilton’s Gore Park to demonstrate their frustration in how long the city is taking to respond to calls to remove the John A. Macdonald statue in the area.

The statue was covered in fabric from head to toe and wrapped tightly with a red rope on Sunday during the demonstration.

The demand to remove the trauma inducing JA MacDonald statue was taken from the streets to Hamilton City Hall. @cityofhamilton pic.twitter.com/vfKBzSKVmb

— January Marie Rogers (@janetmarieroger) June 20, 2021

Speakers also shared stories of their grandparents attending residential schools. Attendees also placed more than 200 silhouettes of children around the park.

Then, the silhouettes were carried to city hall and planted in the gardens surrounding the building. 

According to a report from CBC, a city spokesperson said they do not have any plans to remove the statue. Staff met on Monday to discuss next steps.

The John A. Macdonald statue has been a topic of debate for some time due to the former Prime Minister’s role in developing the residential school program in Canada.

It was even covered in red paint last year after the debate came back into the spotlight.  

Lead image courtesy of Google Maps

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• city
• Gore Park
• Hamilton
• HamOnt
• indigenous
• John A MacDonald
• politics
• residential school
• statue
• Vandalism