Hundreds gather at Government House in Regina for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty hosted an event for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at the Residential School Memorial on the grounds of Government House in Regina.
With around 450 students from the neighbouring Luther College High School, the gathering featured a blessing from Elder John Stonechild, a speech by Mirasty and a musical performance from Saskatchewan’s own Brad Bellegarde.
“Kids relate to the arts, to music,” Bellegarde said.
“I'm just happy that they get to come out, over on a holiday and listen to some music and they probably are going to have some good discussions in their classrooms following this day."
Bellegarde is a renowned hip-hop artist who said music saved him. His rhymes include stories about his experiences, his parent’s experiences, overcoming obstacles and seeing the bigger picture.
He tells his story through his art and while he did not personally attend residential schools, the generational trauma has impacted him, and he believes it is his responsibility to share as much as he can.
"Honouring the lived experience of my parents, my family, my ancestors, you know, like I said I'm a first generation non-residential school survivor, so to me that means I need to do as much work as possible,” he said.
Inspiring youth to stand up and speak up and learn from the traumas of the past, Bellegarde teaches year round to help them learn to express in a healthy way.
“One thing hip hop and rap did for me was it gave me self confidence,” Bellegarde said.
“It’s all in instilling that confidence and empowering the youth I their mind to show that they are worthy, they are good enough to do something, they can speak up, they are valid… their thoughts, their ideas are all relevant.”
As for Mirasty, hosting a youth oriented event at the memorial was fitting. Being a residential school survivor himself, he believes the way forward is through education - and coming together.
"You know on a personal level it can get very emotional, and at times dark,” he said. “But at the same time we want to be able to share that in a way that people start to understand, start to appreciate the history and the stories and that there’s a better way forward.”
Mirasty wants the next generation to understand Canada’s history, and also to learn from it for a better tomorrow.
“Learning a little bit ... really opening their minds to the realities and the truths of residential schools and start to think about it and maybe ask questions."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.