On Monday, Sept. 30, Brock University joined people across Canada to reflect on the impact of the residential school system and commit to relationship building with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.

Robyn Bourgeois, Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, said the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation brings grief and mourning — but where there is trauma, there is also strength.

“The children held at residential schools experienced horrific abuse in a system designed to erase their very identities,” she said. “The impacts of colonialism still ripple through our Indigenous communities today, but it is essential to remember our knowledge and traditions have endured, and Indigenous Peoples are still here making meaningful contributions to their communities and beyond.”

The Survivors’ Flag was raised on campus to start the day, with Brock faculty and staff then participating in a workshop led by Bourgeois and facilitated by the Office of People and Culture. Employees collectively created a Treaty for Action, documenting the tangible steps being taken to apply the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Calls to Action to their work at the University.

The Survivors’ Flag was raised at Brock University to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday, Sept. 30. Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre Peer Assistant Dan Andy (left) conducted a smudging and sang a ceremonial song (Manido Api) as the flag was being raised, in honour of those impacted by the residential school system.

Monday also included a reception for The Legacy of Hope’s Killing the Indian in the Child — Generations Lost: The Residential School System in Canada exhibition; the installation of a heart garden at Alumni Field; and the taking of an aerial photo of dozens of participants in their orange shirts to honour the day.

“The concept can be difficult for people to really wrap their head around: Your child is taken — you’re told they’re going to school — and then didn’t come back for months or years, if at all,” said Cindy Biancaniello, Director of the Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre at Brock. “The ‘sea of orange’ I’ve seen today shows that people are standing with us as we move forward in healing.”

The day concluded with a series of community events at the University’s men’s lacrosse game against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Teams were welcomed on and off the field by the Eagle Staff and song and drumming by the Strong Water Singers, Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre and Muska Ziibi. Kevin Sandy, Director of Haudenosaunee Lacrosse, also conducted a free stick-handling exercise.

Monday’s events followed a month of programming that included beading and dream catcher-making workshops, documentary film screenings, spoken word performances and a reading of the book The Day I Became Number 54. 

Written by Lorrie Gallant, a lecturer in Brock’s Indigenous Educational Studies program, the book is about the experiences of residential school survivor Dawn Hill.

“Hearing Dawn’s story as captured in the book — and having her join us in person to share her story — was particularly moving,” said Director of Indigenous Educational Studies Programs Sheila Cote-Meek. “It’s important for us to hear the truth first, as it bridges understandings on the impact that residential schools had on the lives of Indigenous Peoples.”

Leanne Taylor, event co-organizer and Chair of the Faculty of Education’s Equity and Social Justice Committee, said the large turnout “reflects the ongoing need for greater personal awareness and collective learning as we take responsibility for incorporating reconciliation into our everyday lives.”

Brock researchers also hosted an applied theatre activity this month to reflect on anti-Indigenous racism in Canadian health system delivery.

Second-year Applied Health Sciences master’s student Ryanne Logan set the stage for the event by presenting a literary review of the impacts of colonization in health care. Brock faculty and members of community theatre group Mirror Theatre then presented short vignettes dramatizing lived experiences of discrimination encountered by Indigenous people in health-care settings.

Robyn Bourgeois, Brock University’s Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, leads an impactful discussion on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Calls to Action in Pond Inlet on Monday, Sept. 30. Faculty and staff collectively crafted a Treaty for Action, including steps to embed reconciliation into daily work.

Expanding on the work of a Brock-led transdisciplinary research project funded under the New Frontiers in Research Fund, the dramatizations focused on the Indigenous strand of the research led by Sherri Vansickle, Assistant Professor in the Indigenous Educational Studies program.

Mirror Theatre President and Brock Dramatic Arts instructor Kevin Hobbs said the exercise served as a conversation starter to challenge preconceptions and gain understanding.

“We, as people, are storytellers and using theatre to respectfully share our stories in a good way has been very powerful,” Vansickle added.

Bourgeois said seeing the University community come together “to collaborate on marking this day has been really beautiful,” and that she is grateful.

“This takes some of the weight from our shoulders and opens the door for discussions about connection and community, helping to carve a path forward to true reconciliation.”

Opportunities to learn about Indigenous histories will continue throughout the year.

Information on future events can be found on ExperienceBU.