Fire will burn from 1-4pm every Sunday
A group of Indigenous activists will be lighting a Healing Fire this Sunday, May 18, at Richard Pierpoint Park in St. Catharines.
The fire is meant to create a safe, supportive space for those impacted by the city’s new anti-encampment by-law.
The Healing Fire will burn from 1 to 4 p.m. and will continue every Sunday going forward.
Ashley Cronkwright, a long-time advocate for Indigenous rights and the unhoused, previously challenged the City’s attempts to prevent Healing Fires on public land. She says she is now being targeted by the new by-law for helping the unhoused.
A recent Niagara Region homelessness report shows 28% of the unhoused population identify as Indigenous, underlining the need for culturally grounded responses.
(Written by: Brandon Warby)