Unveiling to cap Orange Shirt Day Walk

Premier Wab Kinew will be in Brandon tomorrow as Truth and Reconciliation Day events return to the Riverbank Discovery Centre with activities focused on healing through tradition.

Kinew is expected to take part in the Orange Shirt Day Walk before making an announcement at the site of the former Brandon Indian Residential School.

An unveiling ceremony will take place at the site for a permanent monument consisting of a centre panel made of black granite, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Jennifer Bone said.

With the addition of eight additional panels, the finished monument will list the names of students who attended the school, as well as survivors and children who never returned home, she said.

“Our staff have spent a lot of years tracing the names of children who attended Brandon Residential School, and this work has been guided by our elders over the years and strengthened by the knowledge of impacted communities,” Bone said.

“It’s important that they have the opportunity to correct the record and help shape, you know, how our children are going to be remembered.”

Staff identified about 2,700 names through archival research and community engagement, she said.

Truth and Reconciliation Day events at the Riverbank will include a free lunch for about 500 people, as well as cultural activities and a recognition of residential school survivors, Kim MacKenzie, co-chair of Truth and Reconciliation Week in Brandon, told the Sun.

Programming kicks off at 9 a.m. with an event called “Wrap the Community.”

Melissa Janzen, organizer of the Wrap the Community event, said the centre of the activity space at the Riverbank will be used for Indigenous cultural activities and to host residential school survivors and those affected by the ’60s Scoop. The goal is to make the community feel embraced, seen and heard, she said.

“We will stand around them and wrap them in our hearts — that’s what we will be doing,” she said. ”We are taking care of survivors. My focus is ensuring they have a safe space.”

Organizers put an emphasis this year on incorporating Indigenous cultural activities for the survivors because they have a healing effect, she said. Hide work and bead work will take place during the event as a way for survivors to reconnect with culture, she said.

“All those activities are extremely healing to folks.”

Janzen could not say how many survivors are expected to attend, but MacKenzie said about 10 were confirmed as of last week and more are expected because roughly 40 participated last year.

MacKenzie also said the cultural activities were chosen to comfort survivors.

“This is still very hard for people and we want to make it as easy as possible,” she said. “It’s a reconnection to your culture. The things that were stolen. It is a part of your culture, and it shouldn’t be forgotten.”

The two-hour event will include a smudging, sharing and singing.

A number of dignitaries confirmed their attendance as of last week and said they will speak at tomorrow’s events, starting at 11 a.m., MacKenzie said. The list includes Brandon East MLA Glen Simard, Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen, Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett and Brandon-Souris member of Parliament Grant Jackson, MacKenzie said.

The purpose of the speeches is to have representatives lead by example, she said.

“We’ve elected them to represent us. We can’t all speak, and we just want them to speak about what truth and reconciliation means to them,” she said.

The dignitaries that had confirmed were very receptive to the event, she said.

“The responses I got were so positive. They were thanking us for inviting them.”

The Orange Shirt Day walk will start at 11:45 a.m., with a one-kilometre walk to take place at the Riverbank and a seven-kilometre walk down Grand Valley Road to the site of the former Brandon Indian Residential School. Sioux Valley Dakota Nation community members will be on site to host participants of the walk.

After the monument unveiling, dignitary remarks will be given at the site and a closing prayer will end the event.

A free lunch of sandwiches, soup and bannock will be provided at the Riverbank at 3 p.m. It is being prepared by the John Howard Society of Brandon. Some lunch items will reflect Indigenous tradition, MacKenzie said.

Starting at 4 p.m., a “Healing by the River” celebration will take place at the Fusion Credit Union Stage with drum group Rolling Thunder. Indigenous traditions will be celebrated at the event, which is expected to last two hours.

Aly Wowchuck, who is helping host the event, said it “will have teachings, discussions with community members about what healing and reconciliation means to them, live music and a powwow demo.”

The event ends with everyone invited to join in a round dance to bring the community together, she said.

Jason Lepine & Band are scheduled to play at the Fusion Credit Union stage starting at 6 p.m. and a Métis jigging demo will also take place. The event is expected to last an hour.

MacKenzie said organizers planned music and dancing to end the day by transitioning into uplifting activities.

“They wanted to close with something upbeat that gets people clapping their hands and tapping their toes,” MacKenzie said. “We are celebrating the culture.”

An Indigenous market will be held at the Riverbank from noon until 5 p.m. and five food trucks are expected from noon to 7 p.m.

The events come during a week of activities that has been in the planning stage since May. A group of 66 people was formed to bring together voices from many community organizations to plan the week’s events, MacKenzie said, adding that it included representatives from Brandon University and Assiniboine College, Knox United Church, The City of Brandon, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, the Riverbank Discovery Centre and Brandon Friendship Centre, among others.

On Thursday, events continue with organized school activities taking place at the Riverbank in the morning and afternoon. The site opens to the public at 3 p.m. and a women’s drum circle learning event is planned for 6 p.m.

School events continue on Friday morning and afternoon, and the site again opens to the public at 3 p.m. A community feast is planned for 4:30 p.m. along with closing speeches. A candy scramble is planned for 6 p.m.

Saturday will see the Mikanah Project at the Riverbank starting at 10 a.m. On Sunday, a “Sisters in Spirit” petal ceremony at the Riverbank will start at 9 a.m.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com