Effects of residential schools, truth and reconciliation discussed at Miyo-wîcîwitowin Day in Regina
Thousands of students, local leaders and members of the public are packed into Mosaic Stadium for Miyo-wîcîwitowin Day, an event discussing residential schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.
Organizers estimate there were more than 12,000 people listening to the messages at the stadium on Thursday morning, with the majority students from across southern Saskatchewan.
(Allison Bamford/CTV News)
The organizers added they believe this is the largest gathering in Canada to ever come together for truth and reconciliation.
Governor General of Canada Mary Simon addressed the crowd on Thursday morning, beginning by expressing her condolences to James Smith Cree Nation.
She told the students they all have a role to play in reconciliation.
“Education is the key to reconciliation. We must learn about each other to reach out to different cultures: Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike,” Simon said.
“It is our shared responsibility to record and teach the true history of Canada. Keep building, keep expanding the circle.”
Governor General Mary Simon addresses Miyo-wîcîwitowin Day in Regina. (Gareth Dillistone/CTV News)
Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme told the students it’s important to continue to recognize reconciliation every day – not just on the specially marked holidays.
“Indigenous people, we don’t want pity, we don’t want anybody to feel sorry for our history. We all inherited this, but when you inherit something you have a responsibility to do something about it,” Delorme said.
“Lets not just identify truth and reconciliation on September 30th or June 21st, lets do it one day at a time.”
Miyo-wîcîwitowin means reconciliation in Cree – roughly translated to "walking in a good way together."
Before the event wrapped, Regina mayor Sandra Masters unveiled a lasting tribute: the seat of truth.
The single orange seat, located in section 531 just below one of screens at Mosaic Stadium, will serve as a “permanent visual reminder of the truth that must be told so the actions of reconciliation can be advanced,” Masters said.
The seat will remain empty and unsold in honour of the children who never made it back from residential schools.
“You can’t unsee it,” Masters said.
“Every time that screen is looked at, and it’s looked at often, you’ll see the orange chair and it’s meant to remind us that we can’t forget.”
The seat of truth at Mosaic Stadium is pictured. (Allison Bamford/CTV News)
Royal Canadian Air Force jets performed a flyby over Mosaic Stadium during the event. The planes were in a missing man formation, to honour the children who never made it home from residential schools.
Organizers called the event a success. They said they will take time to reflect on the day before considering what any future events could look like.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.