Welcome to 50 Sussex, home of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS).

At this stop, we will learn about the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, Paths to Reconciliation, as well as the Heart Garden that was created on these grounds immediately after the discovery of the 215 children at the Kamloops Residential School in May 2021 and many other former residential school sites across the country.

Step 1: Learn

As a result of the movement to support the communities seeking to recover their missing children, the RCGS is undertaking two new initiatives since the summer of 2021 to continue to reimagine Canada in their work.

1. RCGS is in the process of ideating and creating a permanent Reconciliation Garden at 50 Sussex Drive in collaboration with local First Nations peoples.

2. Canadian Geographic is working with Indigenous communities and groups who are in the process of identifying sites of unmarked graves (or those who have already done so) to create an online map to recognize the sites of these recoveries.

Learn more about RCGS, the Heart Garden at 50 Sussex, and the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada by watching the videos and reading the information below!

Step 2: Honour

• Create hearts for your own Heart Garden at your home or in your community.

• Register your Heart Garden on the Reimagine Canada Day tour virtual map by using this form https://forms.gle/F3qVkuhtGrvfahjG9

• Take a photo/selfie of your heart creation and share on social media using the hashtags: #ReimagineCanadaDay2022 and #HeartGardens215.

• Tweet or share on FB or Instagram something you learned from Paths to Reconciliation about a Residential School or Indian Hospital that wasn’t recognized in the IRSSA along with a selfie of you with one of your hearts. #ReimagineCanadaDay2022 and #HeartGardens215

Step 3: Take Action!

1. Support MP Charlie Angus, who is calling on Attorney General David Lametti to investigate crimes against Indigenous Peoples carried out through the residential “school” system. Sign the petition today!

2. Now that the Pope has apologized and is set to visit Canada, write to the Pope to demand that the Catholic Church pay the $26 million dollars that they didn’t pay to the IRSSA so that money can be used for finding unmarked graves. Click here for more information.

Step 4: Keep Learning!

Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada

CanGeo Education's Indigenous Resources

BCTF (British Columbia Teacher's Federation) Resource on Heart Gardens

Link to the Virtual Heart Garden

First Nations Child and Family Caring Society: Heart Gardens