REGINA — The Royal Saskatchewan Museum has announced that a new Indigenous speaker series will be launching later this month, as part of activities planned for national Truth and Reconciliation Day.
Through a partnership with SGI and Friends of the RSM, the four-part Solstice Series will feature four Indigenous speakers throughout the year.
“This Indigenous-focused series will be a yearlong conversation designed to reflect the emotion, introspection, and change that happens each season,” said Craig Perrault, executive director at the Friends of the RSM.
The Solstice Series will be recorded and shared online by the RSM, accessible through their website. The first presentation will be part of the museum’s planned activities to commemorate residential school survivors and their families.
Although Truth and Reconciliation Day is Sept. 30, the RSM is holding some celebratory activities on Sept. 29 as well.
In the evening, the RSM will show the film We Were Children, which follows the experiences of Lyna Hart and Glen Anaquod, who were taken from their homes as children and placed in a church-run boarding school.
Knowledge Keeper Tim Poitras from Muscowpetung First Nation and Gwendy and Gaylene Anaquod will preface the film as guest speakers, talking about their own experiences.
Local jingle dress dancer Meadow Musqua will close out the evening with a performance after the film.
The event is already sold out for in-person attendance, but the RSM will be live-streaming the event on its website. We Were Children is also available to view anytime through CBC Gem.
On Sept. 30, the RSM has invited one local classroom to take part in Orange Shirt Day programming in-person, which will be live-streamed to include all students across the province interested in joining.
Poitras will also speak at this event, joined by musician Brad Bellegarde, whose parents were residential school survivors.
Future dates for the Solstice Series have yet to be announced, but more information about upcoming events can be found on the RSM events calendar online.
