Hundreds form sea of orange for reconciliation walk in Saskatoon | CBC News

Hundreds of people wearing orange joined together in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 territory as part of the Rock Your Roots Walk for Reconciliation on Saturday.

The gathering was held on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded schools between the 1870s and 1997.

Shirley Isbister, president of Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated, shared that her mother-in-law was a residential school survivor, and at five years old, she was taken from her mother’s arms, put on the back of an army truck and taken to Birtle, Manitoba.

“For 13 years, she was in residential school. We’re into the fourth generation now and we still have the effects of intergenerational trauma,” Isbister said. 

Isbister said the sea of orange has only been growing larger in the seven years since she started the walk.

Before the walk began, however, people shared a meal at a pancake breakfast outside the CUMFI in the core of the city.

“It’s an opportunity for people to come and ask survivors questions or just get to know them,” Isbister said. “We want to recognize that if we’re going to have reconciliation, we need truth.”

Isbister said it’s just the start of the truth coming out of different communities, with findgings of potential unmarked graves in the English River First Nation as the most recent one. 

“I think there’s going to be lots more. It’s a time where we’re hurting for the children that didn’t come home.”

Patricia Whitebear agrees. She attended the walk with her daughter, Martina, and grandson, Rider.

“We are walking for my late mother, a residential school survivor, and for my grandparents and father who attended residential schools. We walk in their honour,” she said.

Whitebear said the walk is to spread awareness about the trauma they experienced in the schools.

“I was Sixties Scoop, I was taken from my mother.” 

She said many of her relatives at White Bear First Nation never made it home and they are still trying to find them on their family tree.

Whitebear hopes Canada does not ignore history.

Mayor Charlie Clark has been attending the walks since the start and said they stand testament to the fact Canadians are not turning away from the truth.

“We need to recommit every year to saying what happened to the children in residential schools was wrong,” he said.

Clark said the walk is about relationship building and envisioning a better Canada. He said Saskatoon has ten urban reserves — the highest in the country — which thrive upon that commitment. 

“We all have to support each other to build the pathway forward together.”

Nafiseah Zamani moved from Iran to Saskatoon some 19 years ago and has walked down on the streets for many years in solidarity. She works with the Saskatchewan Intercultural Assosciation.

“As a newcomer to Canada, I feel I wanted to be committed to working toward reconciliation. We try, newcomers coming to the city, to be more familiar with Indigenous people and cultures,” he said.

Zamani encourages newcomers to learn about the Indigenous history and join them next year for a walk together.

“We share a lot of cultural practices and beliefs with the Indigenous people and let’s have positive and harmonious relationships,” she said.

Growing up in Saskatchewan, Breanne Coles said she was kept unaware in schools about the plight of Indigenous people. 

“I didn’t even know the last residential school in Saskatchewan closed in the 90s. I was almost a teenager then, so it’s important that we share this with our children,” she said.

Coles brought her daughter, Emmy, for their second walk together. She said the five-year-old knows the meaning of reconciliation and wants more parents to follow to teach their children about this.

“I want her to be raised knowing the importance of Every Child Matters,” she said.

“So that we know and remember but don’t repeat the history.”

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.