Autumn leaves and orange shirts shone through the city this morning, an early celebration of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day, usually observed on Sept. 30, which is a Saturday this year.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is also known as Orange Shirt Day in honour of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad.
First observed in 2013 as a way to educate and promote awareness of the trauma and suffering that survivors of the residential schools endured, and still do.
In her telling (as told to OrangeShirtDay.org), Webstad recalls her excitement at going to the store to pick out a new shirt for school — shiny and orange, with a lace up front.
The shirt was taken from her that first day at the mission school, with all of her other clothes and she never saw the orange shirt again. In the story, she stated “the colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.”
But now, many in Sudbury are doing their best to care.
Culminating in a presentation at Bell Park by the City of Greater Sudbury and Greater Sudbury Police Service, the more than 100 who took part in the walk participated in a ceremony at the Elm Street location of N’Swakamok Native Friendship Centre. Walkers then wove their way through the downtown core, with orange flags and signs reading “Every Child Matters.”
Upon arrival at the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre, the group listened to presentations from several community organizations including Shkagamik Kwe Health Centre and elder Martina Osawamick.
Osawamick told the group she was taken to residential school at five years old; her mother was also a survivor.
“It's all the intergenerational effects that we pass down from generation to generation. So how do we move forward to reconciliation?” she asked the group. “We honour the survivors, their families, and those children that were lost in those residential schools, and we continue moving forward, working together in a respectful way, in that caring way, with kindness.”
GSPS held a closing ceremony for their Truth and Reconciliation relay as well, which was the culmination of two months of work by more than 1,000 officers with police services across Northern Ontario.
Throughout July and August, the police participants from 41 different organizations viewed educational and awareness videos on Truth and Reconciliation and the history of residential schools in Canada. They also reviewed the Calls to Action brought forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and were asked to reflect on how they could implement change in their personal and professional lives.
Over the month of September, GSPS and community partner agencies logged kilometres by walking, running, cycling and rowing while reflecting on what they learned and how they could make a positive impact. This year, they logged 70,000 kilometres. Though it was less than they hoped, relay organizers Cst. Anik Dennie and Cst. Katrina Pitawanakwat said it was a wonderful lesson as well.
“I truly believe that not reaching the target is a gift,” said Dennie. “This is an example and a marker for our journey towards reconciliation.”
Osawamick spoke of Murray Sinclair, renowned activist, lawyer, former senator and chairman of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and developed the resulting report.
The report contained 94 Calls to Action and called upon all of Canada to commit to reconciliation and to build a more respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. He is famously quoted as saying “Reconciliation is not an Indigenous problem. It is a Canadian one.”
At the event on Sept. 28, Osawamick referred to those calls to action.
“As we continue with reconciliation, looking at all that has happened, we all have to move together in unity, and learn and understand what has happened in the past,” she said. “To help other people, the residential school survivors that still are around like myself.”
For more information about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, click here.
A 24-hour national residential school crisis line to support former students and their families is available at 1-866-925-4419.
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com
