Rob Mercer walking through Enderby on his journey from Kelowna to Kamloops (Facebook/Rob Mercer).

By Aaron Schulze

215 Kilometres

Tahltan/Cree man walking from Kelowna to Kamloops, fundraising for Indian Residential School Survivors Society

Jun 13, 2021 | 1:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — It took Rob Mercer days for him to face his feelings following the news of 215 children whose remains were discovered at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

The Tahltan/Cree man sat down to put his thoughts on paper – writing about his feelings – but he said it was impossible.

“I didn’t have the words, so this is my way of dealing with the grief,” Mercer told CFJC Today.

On Friday (June 11) morning, Mercer began a fundraising journey: walking from his home in Kelowna to the former Kamloops Residential School. As of publication, he has raised over $4,000 for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, and made it to Salmon Arm.

Mercer said he doesn’t have deep reasoning as why he chose to walk through his grief, but he noted the mileage between Kamloops and Kelowna – while going through Salmon Arm – was surprisingly close to 215 kilometres.

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“There’s nothing special about the walk… but the 215 is significant for representing the 215 kids,” Mercer said. “Me and my wife were talking about it, and it turned into this thing I felt I had to do. By walking out this grieving process, I hope it can help other people too. I know my brother was having a hard time with the news and he contacted me a couple days ago, saying he’s happy I’m going through this.”

Nearly halfway towards his destination at the Kamloops Residential School, Mercer said he feels supported. Along with the $4,000 already raised to his personal Facebook fundraiser, he said people have contacted him to let him know they’ve donated directly to Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc via e-transfer at donations@kib.ca.

“If people want to support and don’t know how, they can always support the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, or the Kamloops Indian Band,” Mercer said. “I also provided some additional links to the (National) Centre for Truth and Reconciliation… just because it was important to me as well. I didn’t think this would get as big as it has gotten. I just wanted people I knew that were really connecting with the walk and the fundraiser to be able to go and hear the stories of how this is affecting people.”

While his goal of arriving at the Kamloops Residential School on Monday (June 14) won’t come to fruition, Mercer said he hopes to finish his journey on Wednesday (June 16).

“We spent the first night in Coldstream in a friend’s backyard tenting. Our air mattress started deflating halfway through the night. [Saturday] night we spent the night at a friend’s cabin near Enderby. We were going to tent tonight, but the toll on my legs… I need a good night’s sleep to recover and continue the next day. We’re going to book a hotel room, have a cold bath and a hot shower.”

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For more information:

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Support Resources:

KUU-US Crisis Line: 1-800-588-8717

Tsow-Tun-Le Lum: 1-866-403-3123

Indian Residential School Survivors Society Toll-Free Line: 1-800-721-0066

24hr National Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419