Students share emotional thoughts on reconciliation

Saskatoon Morning4:02What does reconciliation mean to you?

Saskatoon Morning host Leisha Grebinski went to Mayfair Community school to speak to students about their thoughts on the legacy of residential schools and reconciliation.

Grade 7 and 8 students at Mayfair Community School in Saskatoon were inspired to put their feelings into words after listening to a thought-provoking radio documentary on reconciliation.

The students wrote letters sharing what reconciliation means to them, after listening to a piece produced by CBC'sCesil Fernandes.

• Connie Walker and the firsthand legacy of residential schools

The radio documentary sharedstories of Indigenous people who survived residential schools.

Earlier this month the final reports from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada were released. The 3,700-page report included disturbing accounts of children who were separated from their families.

Here is what some of the Mayfair students had to say:

"Dear CBC Radio, I heard your broadcast about residential school survivors.And it really made me emotional. Just hearing how they were treated, for example, putting soap in their mouths or beating them up if they talked in their own language."

"There were so many ways to fix this.I just wish they were able to fix some of the holes caused by residential schools. I know it will always hurt, but we need it as a reminder never to let it happen again."

"You can say sorry, anyone can say sorry, but you need to show it."

Anyone can say sorry, but you need to show it.- Student at MayfairCommunity School, Saskatoon

"When I heard those stories, I couldn't say anything. I tried to look confident but on the inside I was sad."

"Reconciliation means to grow and forgive and make everyone calm.It means no one is worthless."

"If I was a First Nations who had to live without my parents and couldn'tspeak my own language, thenI wouldn't forget about it because you just can't forget about it. It's stuck in your memory."