By Dimitrije Martinovic
(Dimitrije is a staff journalist with the Focus Media Arts Centre, funded by the Government of Canada under the Local Journalism Initiative)

Miguel Avila-Velarde is a long-time resident of Regent Park area. He is also a member of the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association, the Coalition for Community Benefits, and the Tenant Representative for 220 Oak St, a Toronto Community Housing building. Miguel is also an Indigenous man originally from Peru.

Miguel’s activism is born from his personal lived experience as an indigenous person, and as someone who is living with physical and mental issues. In his own words, Miguel has said, “my life long project.. is to leave a better society, a better place for everyone, and a living legacy.”

In May of 2021, with the discovery of residential school burial grounds of indigenous children, Canadian society was rudely awakened to a history that had remained hidden, forgotten and set aside… a history of oppression, and some say genocide.

“The remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, have been found buried on the site of what was once Canada's largest Indigenous residential school — one of the institutions that held children taken from  families across the nation.” (CBC News)

The residential school system, which operated in Canada from 1874 – 1996, saw some 150,000 children pass through it. However, it was this discovery in May 2021 at the Kamloops Indian Residential School that sent a shock wave through both white and native Canadian communities. And it was this event that brought Miguel to media spotlight as he and others joined a rally at Ryerson University to protest the university's use of the Ryerson name. Egerton Ryerson who was Chief Superintendent of Schools for Upper Canada (1847) was instrumental in the creation of the Residential School System.

During the rally on June 6, 2021, Miguel and other protesters toppled the statue of Ryerson, and removed the head. Miguel's involvement in these activities was clearly visible in various videos and photos posted on social media. Furthermore, in 2021 Miguel appeared in demonstrations at Lampton Stadium and Trinity Bellwoods Park in support of homeless people the encampments that were located at those sites.

On August 14, 2021, Miguel attended a rally in Hamilton, Ontario to protest the City of Hamilton's decision not remove the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald that was located in Gore Park.   Sir John A. Macdonald is the first Prime Minister of Canada and among other things, is considered to be one of the architects of the Residential School System. On August 15, 2021, Toronto Police arrested Miguel at his home and was formally charged by Hamilton Police Services for Mischief Over $5000.00 related to his role in taking down the statue.

In further court developments in 2021, the Crown offered Miguel: “plead guilty and receive six months jail time plus probation,” which was followed by a second offer in 2022: “(also) plead guilty and receive a Diversion Program.” Miguel's response to both offers has been, “I am innocent, drop the charges!” While diversion programs on the whole are intended to avert jail time for the convicted, they still carry a criminal record. As an activist, in any future encounters with the police, Miguel is concerned that having a criminal record would greatly hinder his activism.

Steadfast in his innocence, Miguel contends, that he was, “doing the right thing to do, that the memory of those children that have been found across Canada, so far that number gone up to 7, 210 graves, and keeping a statue of genocide in a public space, is hurtful for indigenous people. They don't want to relive the same pain and suffering. So if the City of Hamilton, and the Mayor of Hamilton are not willing to anything, “well it's up to the people to take matter's in their own hands, and exercise our rights,” said Miguel.

As Miguel's legal issues continue, he has decided to fight the charges, and will appear in court again on March 14, 2022. He now faces growing legal costs and has started a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with legal costs. What's more, there is the matter of his emotional wellbeing that has also been affected  – the deterioration of personal habits, insomnia, and anxiety.

Despite the threat of criminal charges, and the emotional trauma that has now engulfed his life, Miguel is committed to speaking out against what sees as “the inequities in society,” and that he is proud to have been able to participate “in the good fight” for a more socially just world.