Opening ceremony sets intentions for Truth and Reconciliation Week at Loyalist College.

By Sam Franks

BELLEVILLE – More than a hundred people gathered at the A’nó:wara Learning Circle on Sept. 24 to participate in a Haudenosaunee opening ceremony mark the beginning of  Truth and Reconciliation week at the college.

The ceremony was led by Jennifer Tewathahá:kwa Maracle, executive director of Indigenous initiatives and reconciliation at Loyalist.

Students and staff gather together before the opening ceremony for Truth and Reconciliation Week at Loyalist College.

Maracle started the ceremony with a teary-eyed thank you to people for coming.

“We had probably about 40 people out [the first year], so you saw the number today and we were likely missing people because of the rain-date and all that confusion.” Maracle said.

The ceremony has supposed to occur on Monday, Sept. 23 but was postponed due to rain.

The team for Indigenous student supports went around the crowd with a bowl of tobacco. Those participating were instructed to take the tobacco with their left hand, think and set intentions or goals for the week, and transfer the tobacco into their right hand.

“When they pass it into their right hand, it’s over their heart so it’s taking those intentions and all those good thoughts too, and then they put it in a common basket so now your intentions are in a basket with my intentions, and that’s powerful to have all of those intentions in one bowl,” Maracle explained.

In Haudenosaunee history, tobacco is representative of the hair of the Sky Woman’s daughter. The daughter of the Sky Woman died after her second child was born through her armpit. Sky Woman buried her daughter and different plants grew from her body.

“So, it’s our understanding that tobacco growing from the head and the strawberry – of course it’s in the shape of a heart, right? And it grows from the heart, that those two are always competing, for control of the body and the tobacco allows us to think our thoughts into it and then send those thoughts to the Creator.”

After the intentions are set, the tobacco is collected and given to the fire-keeper to burn synchronously while Maracle recited the Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen. The smoke from the tobacco carries the message.

The Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen closest translation is “the words before all else”.

“It’s just an intentional action of remembering why we’re together. So, for this week the purpose was to put our minds together and all of our energies together for truth and reconciliation.” Maracle said.

Maracle talked the origins of Orange Shirt Day and how the shirt is to remember the generations impacted by residential schools. Phyllis Webstad, is a residential school survivor who wore an orange shirt on her first day at school. When Phyllis arrived to the residential school it was quickly removed from her, never to be seen again.

Orange Shirt Day is on Sept. 30 and is a national movement and annual event to honour First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children who survived or died in these schools.

Residential schools were run by the government and churches to assimilate Indigenous youth.

Over 130 residential schools operated between 1831 and 1996.

According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, an estimated 150,000 children attended these schools. The records are incomplete however it’s estimated that around 6,000 children died while attending these institutions.

“We all have a responsibility to know what the truth is about the history of Canada. History is often told from the perspective of the victor, and in this case the Indigenous voice was missing from Canadian history for a long time,” Maracle said.

This was new to student Jasmine Lessard who came out to the opening ceremony.

Lessard is Indigenous herself and likes that the college is progressive when it comes to these topics.

“I didn’t know too much about Phyllis Webstad, or that she’s a third-generation [residential school survivor], but it was really good to learn about,” Lessard said.

Lessard recalls being taught these subjects while growing up, and thinks it’s a great way to educate others from other countries who might not be familiar with Canada’s history.

Maracle explained that she has noticed an increased interest in the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada with the students at Loyalist.

“We do find generally that people do want to learn, particularly our students from India who have a similar history of colonization, so they have that connection with us and that understanding from their own history,” Maracle said.

These ceremonies can be healing for other Indigenous students like Wyatt Cromie who lives seven hours away from his original home in Red Lake, ON.

“I never really got the chance to be a part of these cultural moments,” Cromie explained.

Cromie explained that his upbringing didn’t always include cultural moments like this, but by participating in these he gains a sense of identity.

“[I feel] closer to my culture, closer to my ancestors, and everything,” said Cromie.

While Maracle is noticing an increased participation from both staff and students, she says there is still more work to do.

“A lot of the times, the students are uncomfortable asking questions and the faculty and staff are getting more comfortable with just, you know, what is this, what does it mean? I would love for the students to ask all their questions” Maracle explained.

Maracle encourages students to come to the Indigenous Centre and ask questions.

“We have people come in and ask questions like “can we wear moccasins, or is that cultural appropriation?” That’s not a silly question, if that’s stopping you from doing something or making you feel like you shouldn’t, and we are all very open to those questions,” Maracle explained.

The Indigenous Centre operates under the mantra “education got us into this mess, and education will be what gets us out” which was said by Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

After listening to stories of survivors across Canada the Truth and Reconciliation Committee created the 94 Calls to Action and a lot of them relate to Loyalist life.

“It talks about newcomers to Canada learning, well there’s all our international students, it also talks about developing cultural competency in industry sectors that we train students for – like health, justice, so it’s learning that shared history so that you can then pass it on to the students coming through,” said Maracle.

“There’s good things that have happened. More work needs to be done,” Maracle said.

A hotline has been created for anyone experiencing pain or distress. The Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available 24-hours call: 1-866-925-4419. Indigenous Victim Services can be reached at 343-363-0318.