ATHABASCA — The spirit of truth and reconciliation was palpable in the fall air Sept. 30 as Canadians of all walks of life donned orange shirts, skirts, sweaters and more for an autumn walk through Muskeg Creek Trail with the Athabasca Native Friendship Centre (ANFC).
More than 70 attendees walked the route from the Centre through the trail loop, over a blanket of fallen leaves in the early afternoon. The walk was intended to be a time of sharing, listening, and reflecting, and many of the attendees did exactly that.
“I walked today for my dad, he was a residential school survivor, and I walked for a lot of my relatives, some of who are no longer here and some who are,” said Wilma Ladouceur.
“The walk was awesome today, the first one I’ve ever been on. It was really, really good —good for the heart,” she added.
The day also marked ANFC’s first walk for National Truth and Reconciliation Day, and the inaugural event was a success, according to ANFC’s program coordinator Kendra Pritchard.
“We weren’t expecting so many people,” said Pritchard in an interview after the walk.
“Seeing non-Indigenous and Indigenous people coming together is the goal, because that is what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is all about,” she added. “There’s a lot of people here, and it’s beautiful to see.”
After the walk, guests gathered back at the centre for refreshments, as well as more connecting and sharing. Aspen View School Division’s First Nation, Inuit, and Métis Family School Liaison Alma Swan was in attendance, sporting her ribbon skirt and hand-beaded hat.
Swan lead the gathering in a prayer to the Creator, emphasizing that the day and movements are not about placing blame, but acknowledging and honouring the atrocities Indigenous peoples in Canada were subjected to, and the pain still felt by families, communities, and individuals today.
Lived experiences
For Wilma, the open discussion of lived residential school experiences and the generational trauma that followed is a staunch departure from what she grew up with. Her father and aunt didn’t share many stories from their time in school, and that silence is a symptom still felt today.
“We’re just trying to reconcile ourselves,” said Wilma. “A lot of young people don’t want to talk about it, or they weren’t told about it. I’m 73, I know, I’ve seen what damage it has done to a lot of people.”
“It’s nice to see people talk about it, holding hands, laughing. We’re still sad inside but we’ve got to get it off our shoulders,” said Wilma. “If you don’t talk about it, it’s going to weigh you down. It’s just like a big load off your shoulders.”
While Wilma herself did not attend residential school, her husband, Edmond Ladouceur, was a day student at the Holy Angels Indian Residential School in Fort Chipewyan for three years before moving to the newly constructed day school for the rest of his education.
“I never did stay (overnight) at the residential school, but my dad did,” said Edmond, who noted his experience was much different than his father's. “He said they were treated real bad, that was years and years before.”
“I heard a lot about residential school from my father and my uncle. My uncle had tuberculosis and still, they’re breaking yard sticks on his back just so he could get upstairs."
Edmond’s dad left the residential school after Grade 3 and made a life for himself practicing trapping and other traditional ways of living, which he passed onto his sons. Edmond said seeing the revival of those traditional and cultural practices in recent years is a step in the right direction.
“Years ago it was very limited, but now there’s a very large (uptake) of the drumming and dancing, and the sweats. When I was kid on treaty days, we usually had a Tea Dance but that was it, there was never any sweats or drumming, nothing.”
The process of unlearning
The day was an opportunity for locals like the Ladouceurs, who live near Fawcett, to participate in the truth and reconciliation journey, but was also open to visitors looking to spend the day intentionally, like Nakita and Barb Rubuliak.
Nakita, living in Jasper, and mom Barb, from Edmonton, have had property at Island Lake since 1993, and were in the area visiting family when Nakita discovered the centre’s walk and talk.
“It was a lovely way to spend the day,” said Nakita. “Every year I dedicate time to doing something with a local organization and this worked out really perfectly.”
Barb said to her, truth and reconciliation means understanding not only the error of colonialism’s outcome for Indigenous communities and peoples, but also the error in colonialism’s intentions. For her daughter, it’s about reframing and expanding what she thought she knew.
“Truth is such a big part of my journey right now,” said Nakita. “To a degree, we learned about the residential school system during my schooling growing up, but not too much, so a lot of that learning is happening right now. You could also call it unlearning.”
Nakita said discovering the extent of the breadth of residential schools across the country and the continent surprised her, as well as the reality of their relatively recent resolution.
“It’s been an unlearning to sit with and realize we’re not that separate and we never will be that separate.”
Collective learning
ANFC’s Pritchard said seeing the centre’s ability to touch Albertans, no matter where they call home, and provide anyone and everyone with a space to share, reflect, listen and learn, is well worth the everyday effort.
“I would really love to make this an annual thing. It gets everyone out there talking,” said Pritchard. “They’re actively coming into learn, and that is the whole goal of today, for education.”
For Pritchard, having a spot at the helm of Athabasca’s truth and teconciliation efforts is meaningful in many ways. Disconnected with her culture growing up as a young Métis woman, she finds fulfillment in helping others — Indigenous and non-Indigenous — along their learning journey.
“I want to reconnect, I want to help those that are like me that feel lost with their identity, because I was there,” she said. “I see the youth and I can see sometimes they’re lost, and I’m trying to be that person that can guide them in the right direction.”
“I’m still learning too, so it can be a collective effort in order to reclaim what is ours; our culture, the teachings, I never grew up with that,” said Pritchard. “It’s a really beautiful thing, reclaiming our identity, because it was stolen.”
Swan, Pritchard, and ANFC staff made sure to thank all attendees and everyone who expressed — and continues to express — a desire to have uncomfortable conversations and learn more about Indigenous experiences and the truth and reconciliation movement.
“We are all responsible for reconciliation; doing better by being kind to each other, no matter who we are. Every child matters,” said Swan.
