YORKTON - In spite of the cold, windy and rainy morning National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was again marked in Yorkton Monday with a march down Broadway Street, and presentations in City Centre Park.
Tribal Chief Isabele O’Soup told those gathered she came-face-to-face with the reality of more needing to be done after what started out as a very positive visit to a local school.
“I was invited to a school in Yorkton,” she said, adding it was an opportunity to talk to students about the impact of residential school, as the school marked the day since they are closed Sept. 30.
O’Soup said she took more than 100 ‘Every Child Matters’ orange t-shirts and handed them out to students.’
“They (the students) were so happy to get those shirts,” she said.
O’Soup noted too that the tribal council has been wearing the t-shirts every Friday for two years now because “our kids deserve more than one day of remembrance out of the year.”
So O’Soup encouraged the students to wear their new t-shirts every Friday, and to provide an incentive she said they could put their name in a draw each Friday they wear them and at some point they would make a draw for a gaming platform.
The offer was well-received by the students but O’Soup said she soon saw some parents “mad at the school” on social media “for encouraging” kids to wear the shirts weekly.
“They (the parents commenting) didn’t even know the whole story,” she said.
The day, and the orange t-shirts are very simple about raising awareness and remembering “the kids that didn’t come home,” said O’Soup.
While admitting the social media comments “really disturbed me,” O’Soup said it also made her realize “we’ve still got a lot of work to do in Yorkton.”
And in that she said she was “so thankful to everyone of you who stuck it out here today.”
Those that stayed in spite of the weather heard that residential schools impacted many, including speaker Edward Kaye whose own experience included beatings and left him hurting for years.
“I was bitter, filled with anger and rage,” he said.
That pent up hurt led to alcohol and drugs for many.
“A lot of my people died because of alcohol and drugs,” said Kaye. “We need to face that fact.”
It took time to heal.
“Thank god I have a heart that loves,” he said.
Kaye said in spite of the scars it is time to change things.
“We need to start living for our future, loving for our children,” he said.
This important day of remembrance honours the survivors of residential schools, their families, their communities and the children who did not return.
Annually on Sept. 30, both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day are observed across Canada. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led movement that acknowledges the impact of the residential school system.
While still not a recognized civic holiday in the province the Government of Saskatchewan did proclaim Sept. 30 as Truth and Reconciliation Day in the province.
"As we reflect on the history of residential schools and the ongoing impacts on Indigenous communities, I invite all residents to participate in local events and discussions, and to visit the Residential School Memorial on the grounds of Government House in Regina," Minister Responsible for First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs Don McMorris said in a prepared provincial release. "Together, we can foster understanding and healing."
To mark Truth and Reconciliation Day, all provincial government buildings in Saskatchewan, including the Legislative Building, flew their flags at half-mast from sunrise to sunset.
