Ceremonies and events were held to honour the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation throughout the Lakeland over the weekend, culminating in official observances yesterday.
September 30 is designated as the National Day For Truth And Reconciliation.
The day is also recognized as Orange Shirt Day, after the practice of wearing orange T-shirts to honour Indigenous children forced to attend Indian Residential Schools. The last of the schools closed in 1997.
The National Day is one of the 94 Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission chaired by Justice Murray Sinclair.
Rosa John of Kehewin Cree Nation is one of the principal organizers of the Lakeland events. She said she was pleased to see Indigenous and non-Indigenous people coming together for the weekend activities. One such activity was a workshop on making the traditional ribbon skirt.
“One of the things that was really nice was that there was such a mix of native women and non-native women, and everybody working together. It was a real feeling of reconciliation there, you know, and they all just worked hard on their skirts. It was awesome,” she said.
Events centred in Bonnyville and Kehewin were organized by the Lakeland Society for Truth and Reconciliation.
The 4 Wing Military Family Resource Centre Society (MFRCS) presented an evening of story
and song on Friday. Elders and councillors from Cold Lake First Nations were among those who
told the history of Indian Residential Schools, sharing their own experiences as children and relating the ongoing effects on subsequent generations.
Juno-award winning singer and songwriter Aysanabee performed a concert at the MFRCS event.
Earlier in the day Aysanabee performed in St. Paul at an event presented by St. Paul Arts Foundation and Saddle Lake Cree Nation.
Official events on Monday took place after Respect’s press deadline. John said the Bonnyville events were an invitation for people to come together.
“I hope that people who attend the events come away with that feeling of being enriched with newfound knowledge,” she said. “We’re going to have traditional foods, we’re going to have traditional performers, so they’ll be full of the wonderful traditional foods of the feast, delighted with the performances, and ready to show support to First Nations communities.”
That ongoing support, she says, is the whole point of celebrating the National Day—it’s not just a weekend of celebrating or a day off work.
“I hope people are really understanding what it means to have reconciliation,” she said.
