On Friday, Sept. 29, a crowd of about 50 people gathered on the soccer field next to Portage College for a traditional sunrise ceremony commemorating National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which takes place on Saturday, Sept. 30.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was originally called and is still often referred to as Orange Shirt Day. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which became a federally-mandated day of recognition in 2021, is celebrated in conjunction with Orange Shirt Day. The significance of the Orange Shirt is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of Every Child Matters. During Friday’s event, many of those in attendance wore orange to show solidarity with survivors of Canada’s residential school system as well as to remember the children who never made it home.
The ceremony has been held at Portage College since 2021 as an observance meant to recognize, grieve, and honour children who were sent to government and church-run residential schools, as well as a way of showing reconciliation moving forward.
The attendees, which included Portage College employees and student, representatives from Beaver Lake Cree Nation, as well as Indigenous singers, drummers and dancers who performed later in the morning, waited in the predawn chill, talking, and eating breakfast.
At the break of dawn, the sunrise ceremony got underway, albeit under cool, grey skies instead of sunny ones. Prior to the commencement of the main ceremony, there was a traditional smudging ceremony performed by Robert Rayko, the Community and Cultural Facilitator at Portage College, followed by a prayer recited in the Cree language. Throughout the morning, those in attendance, who sat around in a circle, listened to speeches by various guests including Portage College president Nancy Broadbent, Chief Gary Lameman of Beaver Lake Cree Nation, as well as knowledge keeper Darcy McGilvery, who spoke about the painful legacy of Canada’s residential school system.
Students from Beaver Lake’s Amisk School also recited a special poem in recognition of this special day.
