The Willow River Centre hosted a sacred fire and vigil at a playground at Willow River Park in Kitchener one day before National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or Orange Shirt Day, celebrated on Sept. 30.ย On the memorial day, Canadians remember the atrocities and multi-generational trauma inflicted by the Canadian Indian residential school system.ย This event celebrates the rights of Indigenous communities and honours individuals who returned home from residential schools and those who didn’t.ย
Those who never returned from residential schools were often victims of the abuses, overcrowding, poor sanitation and severely inadequate food and health care provided by the institutions.
A small group of people who have Indigenous backgrounds and staff members from the Willow River Centre attended the event.ย Some even brought friends and close family members who wanted to honour and respect the Indigenous communities in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, especially those who have family members who underwent trauma and depression from attending residential schools or facing discrimination.ย
Willow River Centre community members created a small campfire, gathering around as Indigenous guest speakers, such as Land Back Camp youth Shay Herold and her elder Rhea Green, shared their stories and experiences of attending residential schools and their daily lives as members of the Indigenous communities.
Reflecting on the hardships and trauma that former residential school students underwent brought recognition and tears to the people attending the event.
“My grandfather, Ernie, was able to protect his children by allowing them to go to a public school, which they were not then subjected to the horrors of the residential schools,” said Green when she spoke about her childhood growing up.
She talked about how her family did everything they could to avoid their children getting taken by the residential school systems and what her life was like when she attended public school in Toronto with her brother.
“We’d all be in handcuffs. We wouldn’t be able to sing our songs. We wouldn’t be able to talk to our creator,” Green said, showing how earlier generations of Indigenous communities couldn’t express or carry out their traditions.
Indigenous peoples mainly teach their culture through storytelling, song, dance, and other oral techniques.ย However, discriminatory policies, armed conflicts, and separation from families and traditions that are vital to Indigenous identity and well-being led to cultural losses as generations continued to pass.ย
“We lost so many teachings, and the impact of residential school has affected our teachings in ways that we don’t even know how to describe,” said Herold, who comes from a German and Indigenous background.
She said her brother didn’t want to embrace his Indigenous background, saying that he never took pride in being biracial and that being different only brings trouble.
“He thought it was a bad thing, baggage he didn’t want to carry. He didn’t want to be seen as something different,” said Herold. “He just wanted to be a regular kid and enjoy life as that.โ
Her story mentions discrimination and how some individuals from Indigenous communities donโt want to embrace their culture, afraid they would face discrimination from their peers.
“I’ve seen many things in my whole life, but the most amazing and the most wonderful is to hear our young ones speak our tongue,” said Green, showing appreciation for the sacred fire and vigil. “To see our people gather, to hear the songs, to hold a drum โ I have had the blessings of the creator being able to see this.”