Community members showed up in large numbers to help cover up racist symbols left on a Residential School memorial bridge in Port Alberni this week. (Image Credit: David Wiwchar/93.3 The Peak)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

no hate

Alberni residents rally after racist imagery painted over Residential School memorial

Jan 23, 2026 | 9:48 AM

PORT ALBERNI — Racist graffiti left for a third time on a key marker of Residential School remembrance in the community is causing locals to say enough is enough.

Vandals attacked The Orange Bridge on River Rd. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, painting a swastika over ‘Every Child Matters’ messaging, marking the second time in a week the monument was defaced and the third time overall.

Tseshaht Chief Councillor Ken Watts said while he was initially angry and upset at the continued vandalism, he was filled with a sense of optimism after seeing so many people come out to help repaint the monument.

“There’s still a lot of love for our community and a lot of people who care,” he said. “We’ve got to remind ourselves that people that do things like this are just a small minority not just here in the Valley but across the world they’re still a minority and just a small minority.”

Watts added the sad events at the bridge, over the last week in particular, show more work needs to happen to educate people on First Nations history and the impact of residential schools.

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He said education is key in “creating a new generation…free from hate and racism.”

“Unfortunately there’s a lot of adults who are never going to change their mind, no matter what we say or do. We don’t want to give these people a platform in what they say, but we also have to speak out about it – we can’t just ignore it and act like it’s OK because it’s not.”

Dozens of citizens and local government representatives helped paint over the epithets, and police promised to make prosecuting hate messages a priority.

Indigenous relations minister Spencer Chandra Herbert condemned the “repeated acts of racist vandalism” in Port Alberni via a statement issued Thursday, Jan. 22.

“Hate crimes, racist remarks, and hate speech have no place whatsoever in Port Alberni, British Columbia or Canada. It is upsetting, it is hurtful, and it takes us backwards. The Province actively denounces any acts of racism. We are committed to a province where everyone feels safe.”

He added the increase in residential school denialism in B.C. is “deeply concerning” as it “seeks to erase or distort the truth of residential schools and the lived experiences of survivors and their families.”

— with files from David Wiwchar (93.3 The Peak) and The Canadian Press

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