On September 30th, 2024, UNB hosted a commemorative event for Truth and Reconciliation Day to honour the survivors of Residential Schools and the children who never returned.
The ceremony was live-streamed on the Saint John campus in Oland Hall, 103. Held by the Office of the Piluwitahsuwin, or the Associate Vice President of Indigenous Engagement, the ceremony focused on the voices of survivors of the horrors that persisted in the residential schools.
The gathering included traditional Wolastoq and Mi’kmaq songs from community members,
who offered prayers for victims of residential schools. Community members in attendance were also offered Tobacco ties – a small red pouch with tobacco bundled inside with our prayers. Tobacco ties are an offering to the creator. They are a prayer and an apology for how things are and what we could have been. These offerings can be hung on a tree, released near a water body, or laid on land.
“Canada has to know its story” a Mi’kmaq elder affirms to those in attendance.
The residential schools refer to a network of government-funded religious organizations
established to forcefully assimilate Indigenous students into Euro-Canadian culture. Children were beaten, bruised, and battered by a system that punished those who chose to speak in their mother tongue. Records show at least 4,100 children died while studying at residential schools, it is important to note that this number does not include the deaths that continue to be uncovered.
“Get over it? We cannot.” an elder emphasizes.
The truth is settler colonialism is an ongoing process that continues to disempower indigenous communities on Turtle Island. According to Global News, at least nine Indigenous individuals have died in police custody since the end of August. In a state of ongoing violence within Turtle Island and beyond, Truth and Reconciliation Day serves as a reminder of the violence that helped establish Canada as we know it.
Make no mistake, there has been progress, an elder at the ceremony reassures the crowd. From the prime minister observing smudging ceremonies to designated smudging rooms on our very campus are each symbolic of reconciliation. The academy plays an essential role, as an educational body in delivering the truth. The university also has an Indigenous study space, which students can utilize, while actively educating themselves of the ongoing legacy of settler colonialism. Located near the pizzeria, the Walimahusk Lumsuk, or the sweet grass room is a step towards UNB’s Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan which can be found here.
“The truth is there is a difference between indigenization and decolonization. To effectively
de-colonize one must essentially dismantle every colonial system which is nearly impossible. This is why I do believe the path forward is indigenization through the two-eye seeing approach in our education system, including indigenous teachings and educators in these spaces. It’s almost a responsibility if you think about it,” adds Senior Indigenous Advisor, Todd Ross. Students can always reach out Todd via email t.ross@unb.ca or drop by his office located on the ground in Oland Hall.
I end this article with a powerful poem, recited by UNB Saint John student Ande Mosher at the ceremony titled “Reconciliation” by Chief Stacey LaForme:
“I sit here crying
I don’t know why
I didn’t know the children
I didn’t know the parents
But I knew their spirit
I knew their love
I know their loss
I know their potential
And I am overwhelmed
By the pain and the hurt
The pain of the families and friends
The pain of an entire people
Unable to protect them, to help them
To comfort them, to love them
I did not know them
But the pain is so real, so personal
I feel it in my core, my heart, my spirit
I sit here crying and I am not ashamed
I will cry for them, and the many others like them
I will cry for you, I will cry for me
I’ll cry for what could have been
Then I will calm myself, smudge myself, offer prayers
And know they are no longer in pain
No longer do they hurt, they are at peace
In time I will tell their story
I will educate society, so their memory is not lost to this world
And when I am asked
What does reconciliation mean to me
I will say, I want their lives back
I want them to live, to soar
I want to hear their laughter
See their smiles
Give me that
And I’ll grant you reconciliation”
