NDTR to be remembered with local events

“It’s not a day of celebration, it’s a day of commemoration, of remembering.”

This Friday marks a somber chapter in our country’s history and the Lakeland Society Truth & Reconciliation is marking the significance of the national day with a series of events.

The new organization is drawing attention to Indigenous culture and the history of Residential Schools with a full lineup of events on September 30, the National Day of Truth & Reconciliation.

But the workshops began last weekend. Thanks to a grant from Heritage Canada, (Patrimoine Canadien), they were able to offer a free ribbon skirt workshop to fill a void for Indigenous people. 

On Thursday, a drive-thru procession is planned from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Vehicles will gathered at the C2, says organizer Corita Vachon. Residents are asked to wave and wear orange shirts as they pass by.

“Anybody that’s interested is invited to to attend. You can meet us at the C2, we’re decorating our vehicles with NDTR theme. We’ll be carrying our three flags, the Metis Nation flag, the Treaty Six flag, and Every Child Matters flag. We’ll be playing our traditional music as loud as we can, and driving up and down the streets,” said Vachon. 

The next day is a full lineup of activities at the Centennial Centre.

At 9:00am, the events begin with a tipi raising and blessing. There are three rotating workshops including Native theatre, hoop dance, and Metis jigging.

“The workshops are there to bring education on Indigenous culture. So everyone is invited to attend and participate,” said Vachon. 

In the evening, survivors of residential schools will be speaking on their experiences, most of which happened at Blue Quills.

There will also be a 16-year-old who will speak about intergenerational trauma, as well as a speaker to talk about the impacts of assimilation on the justice system.

“They are local survivors that were that have offered to speak…It’s to show that the Residential Schools were part of a greater picture of assimilation that the Government of Canada had planned to do. It’s infiltrated in so many areas of our government, and it’s still impactful today,” said Vachon. 

The Lakeland Society has orange shirts for sale as part of their fundraising to hold events throughout the year. You can contact their Facebook page or via email at lakelandtruthandreconciliation@gmail.com.

“We’ll be doing more events throughout the year to bring attention to the truth. We’re always first about the truth, truth telling. And education and awareness of Indigenous culture and traditions.