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Aboriginal grandmothers march

Marchers walk down Main Street this morning.

KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

Marchers walk down Main Street this morning.

The fourth annual Grandmothers Protecting Our Children Sacred Walk took place today.

The walk, which was initiated three years ago as a means of raising awareness about the abuse and sexual exploitation of all children in Winnipeg and across the country, started at the Circle of Life Thunderbird House at the corner of Main Street and Higgins Avenue at 10 a.m. and was to conclude at The Forks Market.

There will also be sister walks today in Thompson, Roseau River, Waywayseecappo and Keeseekoowenin Ojibway nations.

Margaret Lavallee, elder and sacred walk organizer, said she and her fellow grandmothers want to take back their traditional roles in society.

"We lost that role because of the horrors of the residential schools system, the colonization of our lands and people and the purposeful destruction of our culture. We want to take back that role, what was ours, and to protect our children and the generations to come," she said.

History

Updated on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 11:17 AM CDT:
Updated with new information and headline

Updated on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 1:43 PM CDT:
Fixes typo

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