The Pembina Valley Truth & Action Working Group hosted its third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Ceremony and Healing Walk Saturday in Morden.
Supporters clad in orange gathered for a pre-walk ceremony and flag-raising that honoured the victims of residential schools and acknowledged the generational trauma Indigenous people have suffered.
In introducing her son to sing an honour song, Marlene Henry of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation reflected on the impact her time in a residential school had on her and her family.
“This is a very emotional day,” she said, “remembering the little ones that weren’t able to go home.
“I was one of the lucky ones to survive from residential school,” Henry said. “I had to go through a lot of healing … my whole family had to go through healing because they get affected too, when a parent is a survivor.
“When we came from residential school, we didn’t even know how to say I love you, because we never ever received it. We never knew how to hug and kiss a person that you love. We were afraid to say it, I love you, because that’s one of the things they took away from us is how to love.”
Henry’s son Keith, who is also a residential survivor, sang two songs for those assembled, one while the Every Child Matters flag was raised by his family members.
Also sharing his story was Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation Knowledge Keeper Peter Atkinson, who was just five years old when he was taken from his family and sent to a residential school alongside his older brother.
His mother didn’t want to send them, he said, but she was told the monthly payment the family received from the government would be withheld if they didn’t. The family relied on that money to survive.
Atkinson shared stories of abuse, hunger, and missing children.
Reconciliation today, he said, is an acknowledgement that these wrongs happened, that they still have an impact today, and that action must be taken to facilitate healing.
“When you’re reconciling you’re admitting that somebody did something wrong. Who did wrong? It wasn’t us,” he said. “The fact we went to residential schools is not right.”
This year’s healing walk marked the 10th anniversary of Orange Shirt Day, a campaign launched to spark a nationwide discussion of the harm residential schools wrought.
In 2019, a bill to designate it as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was passed by the House of Commons.
In 2021, in the wake of the remains of 215 Indigenous children found in unmarked graves at a residential school near Kamloops, B.C., the bill was passed by the Senate.
“Today we mourn the children who were never able to return home,” said walk organizer Courtney Yeo. “We mourn for the children who returned home unable to speak to their family members. For the children who felt like strangers in their home communities. We mourn the trauma that has affected so many generations and remember the atrocities of residential schools.”
“But alongside that mourning we look towards the future with a sense of hope. Hope for the children who will no longer say, ‘How come I was never taught this in school?’ Hope for today’s Indigenous youth who are building the courage to use their voices and make change. Hope for the education we have all committed to learning by attending today and listening to the stories. And, finally, hope that we can work towards reconciliation in our communities.”
After the ceremony, participants marched from the event centre down to Thornhill St. and back, where they then they enjoyed a lunch of bannock hot dogs and a time to come together to share experiences and foster greater understanding.
