The statue of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth was torn down in Canada by Reuters

WINNIPEG, Canada (Reuters) – Protesters have thrown statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II in the Canadian city of Winnipeg as anger grows over the discovery of hundreds of children’s remains in unmarked graves in ancient indigenous schools.

The crowd shouted “not proud of the genocide” before the monarchs were overthrown.

The action took place on Canada Day on Thursday, when traditionally celebrations were held across the country.

However, many cities canceled the events this year because the scandal surrounding Indigenous children confronted Canadians with their colonial history. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the day will be “a time for reflection”.

Nearly 1,000 unmarked graves have been found in former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, mostly run by the Catholic Church and funded by the government.

For 165 years and since 1996, schools have been forcibly separating indigenous children from their families, suffering from malnutrition and physical and sexual abuse in 2015 when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called it a “cultural genocide”.

In Winnipeg, the crowd rejoiced when the statue of Queen Victoria fell outside the Manitoba provincial legislature. Demonstrators, many wearing orange clothing, threw up the statue and danced around. The base and statue were packed with red paint hand marks.

They also threw a statue around Queen Elizabeth. He is the current head of state of Canada, when Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901 when Canada was part of the British Empire.

Protests against Indigenous children also took place on Thursday in Toronto, Canada’s financial center, and a #CancelCanadaDay march in the capital Ottawa drew thousands of people in support of the victims and survivors of the residential system.

Funeral services and rallies were held throughout other parts of the country. Many participants wore orange clothing, which has become a symbol of movement.

In a Canada Day message, Trudeau said the findings of the remains of children from former schools “have reasonably put pressure on us to reflect on the historical failures of our country.” He said there are still injustices for Indigenous people and many others in Canada.

A spokesman for Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, said the government had condemned the disappearance of the queen’s statue.

“Our thoughts are with Indigenous communities in Canada after these tragic discoveries. We follow these issues closely and continue to liaise with the Government of Canada on Indigenous issues,” he said.