On Saturday, Sept. 30, events were held across Canada as part of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour survivors of Canada’s residential school system and to remember those who never came home.
In Lac La Biche County, a large crowd participated in a walk to bring awareness of the trauma faced by residential school survivors and as a way of showing support and solidarity for the cause of reconciliation and moving forward. The event was supported by Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement.
The walk commenced in the parking lot behind Value Drug Mart. The group included representatives of various First Nations and Métis communities and organizations, Portage College, Coun. Kevin Pare of Lac La Biche County, as well as members of the community.
Led by a truck from Alberta Wildfire Services in which a group of drummers from Saddle Lake sat in the back performing while singing in the Cree language, the procession appeared as a sea of orange as it made its way up Main Street before turning onto Beaver Hill Road. In addition to wearing orange T-shirts, which have become a symbol of Indigenous resilience and as a way of raising awareness about the generational impacts of residentials schools and to promote Every Child Matters, several of the marchers donned traditional clothing, including skirts and dresses.
The group made its way to the Bold Centre where the events for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation continued with a land acknowledgement followed by a moment of silence and an Elder’s Prayer provided by Emma Rayko, who is the elder for Lac La Biche County. Afterward, the crowd that had gathered inside the Bold Centre Community Hall listened to speeches by Pare, James Cardinal, the past-president of the Métis Nation of Alberta Region One, Stan Delorme, Chairman of Buffalo Lake as well as a presentation from Louis Bellrose, a residential school survivor who gave a poignant story of his life and healing from the trauma of abuse.
There were also profiles of residential school survivors on display inside the hall for those in attendance to read as well as lunch and performances by Indigenous dancers.