While the original plans for a day-long at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park were canceled due to the pandemic, plenty of residents still gathered to honour Canada’s first-ever day forĀ Truth and Reconciliation.
Lheidli T’enneh Elder Darlene McIntosh, Mayor Lyn Hall, and Prince George -Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond each spoke at the park to open up the event.
Drumming circles and dancing will be held until 4:00 pm at the park.
Around 150 residents marched throughout the park and dropped off flowers at the memorial for the 215 children found in unmarked graves in Kamloops in front of Exploration Place.
Local Indigenous activist and event organizer Wesley Mitchell says flowers can still be dropped off at the monument.
“We’re also asking for people to come down and bring their drums, to bring flowers, and to bring orange shirts. We’re looking for support from non-Indigenous, we’re looking for multicultural and immigrants to come down and of course, we’re going to have Indigenous elders, survivors, and drummers down there too,” Mitchell explained.
This gathering is held so attendees can reflect on the long-lasting impacts that the residential school system has had on Indigenous people across the country.
Between 1880 and 1996, Indigenous children were taken from their homes to the often church-run schools in a government-funded program to assimilate them into Canadian society.
In these schools, they lost their families, culture, and language as they were often severely punished for breaking the rules.
Thousands of children’s remains have been uncovered at many former residential school grounds across the country, and Lheidli T’enneh First Nation is now discussing conducting the same work at Lejac, the former residential school near Fraser Lake.
A documentary detailing a local Gixtan woman’s experience in the residential school system has been released on Youtube, as Sonya Rock’s story can be viewed here.
“This day for me as an Indigenous man means to stand up, to speak the truth of my history and to bring up the history of my grandfather, Donald Mitchell, my grandmother Hazel Mitchell, my father Clement Mitchell, and just my ancestors that have passed on and cant voice their stories,” he said.
He adds it’s an important day to recognize the culture that has been stolen from Indigenous residents.
Lheidli T’enneh Chief Colleen Logan says she hopes non-Indigenous Prince George residents take a few minutes to educate themselves on local Indigenous culture and history.
A UNBC talking circle was also held this morning over Zoom, which featured singing, dancing, and storytelling, and presentations from numerous Indigenous faculty members.
To read the 94 calls to action from theĀ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, click here and for the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, click here.
To make a donation to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society,Ā visit the non-profitās website.
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