ATHABASCA — For many, orange brings to mind the changing colours of fall, but in recent years the colour has become a symbol for a movement gaining momentum all across the country. And in the week leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (TRC), Athabasca and area residents were no exception to the national show of support.
In honour of the growing “Every Child Matters” movement and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Athabasca and Calling Lake locals came together to pay homage to the lives lost during the residential school era and celebrate the reclamation of Indigenous culture by new generations.
On the morning of Sept. 29, hungry patrons in orange were lined up outside the Athabasca Native Friendship Centre in anticipation of the organization’s pancake breakfast to commemorate the day.
“The centre has always done something for this day because it’s important to honour the day for the survivors and the children that didn’t make it home,” said Anges Finney, executive director of the Athabasca Native Friendship Centre during a Sept 26 interview.
“I hope that when (people) come into our centre, they’re going to find information on this day, they’re going to be able to talk to people on this day, and be amongst other survivors. Or just residents who want to come check it out,” said Finney. “We’re just here as a group of people who provide resources, but also it’s a welcoming place to be.”
More than 50 people attended the event, which was open to the public and ran from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Visitors enjoyed breakfast cooked up by Friendship Centre staff and conversation amongst the communal tables.
“We cannot ever forget the reason why there’s a national day for TRC, it’s because of the residential school (system) and the impacts it had on Canada, and Canada’s Aboriginal people,” said Finney.
“For me, it’s a very personal day, because my mother was a residential school survivor and I was taught in a day school,” added Finney. “We’re trying to promote awareness on this day, because of what happened in our past. Honouring our past and recognizing this day is special to a lot of Aboriginal people — and not only them, it’s for a lot of other people — but it takes a special meaning (for) us.”
In the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, one of the 94 calls to action presented to the federal government was to create a national holiday in recognition of the movement, and the day chosen, Sept. 30, carries as much significance as the colour orange.
The date marks the time of year in which Indigenous children were taken from their families to attend residential school. And although the day was chosen in recognition of the lives affected — and lost — through residential school, Calling Lake residents said the spirit of the day was one of celebration, rather than mourning.
On the morning of Sept. 27, students and residents gathered under the roof of the new outdoor classroom behind the Calling Lake school for a traditional ceremony to celebrate the reclamation of an estranged culture.
Philip Nanimahoo of the Bigstone Health Commission spoke to the gathering, and described residential schools as “sterile, antiseptic environments,” with a “lack of love and nurturing” that left many survivors with a serious lack of self-esteem.
The event was led by knowledge keepers Victor Gladue and Lorraine Cardinal and started with a smudge and traditional pipe ceremony. Cardinal brought gifts of tobacco and fungus, gifts which she said are for taking back the Indigenous spirit that residential schools, and the mental, sexual, emotional and spiritual abuse endured within them, tried to remove.
A group of young drummers took up position around a traditional hide drum, sharing handshakes and a prayer over the instrument before performing a handful of songs for the crowd. Following the ceremony at the school, students and residents moved to the community centre for lunch, where traditional harvest baskets were exchanged.
Naminahoo said the event was a joint effort between the Calling Lake School and the Bigstone Health Commission. Stephen Marsh, Calling Lake principal, said although the day is celebrated by many different schools across the country, recognizing the day in an Indigenous community is “all that much more significant and important.”
Lexi Freehill, TownandCountryToday.com
