Community invited to participate on September 30 in Niagara Falls
NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK: (September 23, 2026) – Seneca Resorts & Casinos is inviting the public to come together for an evening of remembrance and healing, as it hosts its sixth annual “Every Child Matters” walk in downtown Niagara Falls on Tuesday, September 30, joining communities across the United States and Canada in a continued effort to bring understanding, awareness and healing to the abuse faced by generations of Indigenous children at residential boarding schools that operated across both countries.
Beginning in the 1800s and lasting well into the 1990s, tens of thousands of Native American children were removed from their families and forced to attend residential boarding schools across the United States and Canada, including the Thomas Indian School, which operated on the Seneca Nation’s Cattaraugus Territory in Irving from 1855-1957. Children at the schools were systematically stripped of their names, traditional language and culture, and were often the victims of physical abuse. Thousands of children are known to have died at the residential schools. It is believed that the deaths of hundreds – if not thousands – more were never documented.
“Each year we make this walk, we walk to honor and remember the victims, we walk to support the survivors, and we also walk for ourselves because every Native community has been impacted by the trauma suffered by the children at the residential boarding schools,” said Seneca Resorts & Casinos President & CEO Kevin Nephew, a member of the Seneca Nation. “The scars and wounds that the survivors still carry to this day are our scars. Their journey toward healing is our journey. Having our friends and neighbors from throughout the community join us for this walk every year is incredibly meaningful.”
Hundreds of walkers wearing orange t-shirts have taken part in the “Every Child Matters” walk in Niagara Falls each of the last five years, making a visible and powerful statement of community support.
Participants for this year’s walk are asked to gather at Seneca Square, in front of the Fourth Street entrance to Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, starting at 5 p.m. Following some brief welcome remarks, walkers will then start along the approximately one-mile walk route, pausing for a moment of silence at Prospect Point with a Healing Song led by Haudenosaunee Singers, before returning to Seneca Square. Everyone is invited to participate.
For years observed as Orange Shirt Day as a way to educate and promote awareness of the impact Indigenous residential schools had on Indigenous people and communities, September 30 is now a federal statutory holiday in Canada known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The “Every Child Matters” walk in Niagara Falls has become a signature awareness event in the region.
Seneca Resorts & Casinos consists of three Class III premier gaming and resort facilities, including Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, NY, Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in downtown Buffalo, NY, and Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca, NY, as well as the award-winning championship Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course in Lewiston, NY. Across all three resort properties, guests can indulge in 20 delicious dining destinations, 12 exciting bars, over 5,100 slots, over 125 table games, and two AAA Four Diamond award-winning hotels with over 1,000 deluxe rooms and suites. All of the resorts & casinos are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. More information is available by calling 1-877-8-SENECA (1-877-873-6322) or visiting SenecaCasinos.com.
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