Honour Chanie’s Legacy this Secret Path Week

Chanie Wenjack was an Anishinaabe boy from Marten Falls First Nation. In 1963, at the age of nine, he was sent to Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora, Ontario. Three years later, he ran away trying to reunite with his family who was 600 kilometres away.

On October 22, 1966, a week after he fled, Chanie joined the spirit world. His body was found by the railway tracks, and his death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children at residential schools. Now, every year, we honour Chanie’s legacy by marking this as the last day of Secret Path Week.

Secret Path Week is a national movement that commemorates the legacies of Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack, taking place annually from October 17-22— the days that Gord and Chanie respectively joined the spirit world. Today, 56 years after Chanie’s passing, we continue to honour his story and the stories of the 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children who attended residential schools.

Thank you to all of you who have joined us in honouring Chanie by participating in a Walk for Wenjack, learning about the history and ongoing impact of residential schools, and taking reconciliACTION this Secret Path Week.

In case you missed any of this year’s DWF LIVE sessions, you can watch them here. There’s still time to complete your Walk for Wenjack friends, family, and your community – don’t forget to register to log your KMs here.

To learn more about Secret Path Week and what you can do to move reconciliation forward year-round, please visit our website. Thank you for taking reconciliACTION!

Marsi/Miigwetch/Thank You,

Sarah Midanik
President & CEO
Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund

Donations to DWF contribute to reconciliation in Canada by supporting programs, campaigns, and events that serve to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and communities together. Thank you!