'They did not kill the Indian': Regina marks National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

A sea of orange covered the gymnasium at the mmawyatitn centre in north Regina as Canada marked the fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Monday.

The day is a time to remember Indigenous children who died at residential schools, the survivors, their families and communities. Also known as Orange Shirt Day, it takes place Sept. 30 each year and is a federal statutory holiday.

More than 150,000 First Nations, Mtis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded residential schools between the 1870s and 1997. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation estimated that more than 4,100 children died while attending the schools.

The event in Reginabegan at 8:30 a.m. MT with a pipe ceremony, followed by prayers, guest speakers, and a barbecue. More than 2,000 people gathered for the event with roughly 200 volunteers pitching in, the organizers said.

As people across the country marked this day, elders in Regina emphasized the importance of the day as they took centre stage Monday morning.

Solomon Ratt was one of those speakers. Ratt, 70 now, said he was taken away to a residential school in Prince Albert when he was six.

Ratt said he was at the school from 1960 to 1969, after which he said he was put into a boarding program until 1973. He "just spent two months of the year" with his family in all that time, he said.

"Reconciliation for me is to be able to look at my experiences and be able to share those experiences and to grow out of the resentment that I felt for so long," he said.

"Resentment is poison for me. If I stay in anger, I will not be able to heal so it gives me the opportunity to reconcile myself."

Ratt recollected the honours he's been bestowed upon by the provincial and federal government over the years as he pointed to the lapel pins on his blazer. He calls reconciliationa misnomer, saying there has to be conciliation before reconciliation.

It's important, he said, for him to pass along the stories of what had happened to the younger generation.

"The biggest thing that I experienced was not hearing the traditional stories that were told in the wintertime," he said.

"I remember going home the first summer, asking my parents to tell me the stories. And they told me, 'Sorry, it's summertime, we cannot tell these stories.'"

Forrest Duane Pelletier Junior, an attendee, stumbled upon the event. He said there's been a performative corporatization of Indigenous struggles that "use slogans as marketing schemes."

"If there was truly truth and reconciliation, there wouldn't be this much shoes going on top of every fence just to show that there's children going missing," he said.

Fawn Redwood, one of the organizers, said they hadn't expected people to show up in the numbers that they did. The meeting space was filled to the brim with hardly any noticeable standing room, but Redwood said, community members made sure there was space for everyone.

Redwood said the event not only recognized intergenerational traumas, but also focused on keeping the intergenerational knowledge alive.

"We are starting to, of course, have things like our dancing and everything else where we flourish and see that culture is still alive. They did not kill the Indian. People are still here today."

The 40-minute healing walk was cancelled because of rain showers in Regina, but attendees rallied in layered circles indoors to honour the healing walk and do a Round Dance instead.

While the speakers recognized grief, anger, and the call for justice, they also talked about the importance of community support in providing comfort.

"You can't move forward without looking back. And that's what we do. We take the time to remember, but of course, move forward so that it doesn't happen to our children or our future generations," Redwood said.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat