{"id":80810,"date":"2022-09-30T15:45:47","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T19:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=80810"},"modified":"2022-09-30T16:12:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T20:12:51","slug":"brock-student-athlete-encourages-reflection-beyond-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2022\/09\/brock-student-athlete-encourages-reflection-beyond-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock student-athlete encourages reflection beyond National Day for Truth and Reconciliation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each time Keelee Hollowell hits the ice with the Brock women\u2019s hockey team, it comes with an opportunity to reflect on her ancestry.<\/p>\n

The second-year Psychology student, whose family\u2019s heritage has ties to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, had her goaltender mask repainted with a mix of meaningful imagery that is close to her heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy back plate is a red dress hanging in a stall to represent Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls,\u201d she said. \u201cThe rest of the helmet is portraying a traditional Indigenous headdress. I also have my community on the side with the words Mohawk Territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also written on her mask is the name of Maela Sharon Holmes, an 11-year-old goalie from St. Catharines who passed away suddenly on June 22. The young hockey player was taught by Hollowell in goalie training programs.<\/p>\n

While the helmet often reminds Hollowell to reflect on the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, she wants to encourage others to do the same.<\/p>\n

\"A

Keelee Hollowell had her goaltender mask repainted with a mix of meaningful imagery that is close to her heart.<\/p><\/div>\n

She\u2019s hopeful the Brock community joined her on Friday, Sept. 30 in recognizing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day, for which the University hosted a series of events<\/a>, honours and remembers the more than 150,000 Indigenous children forced away from their families and into the residential school system, where many suffered various forms of abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis day is special to me because it\u2019s an opportunity for the country to honour the memory of all the children we lost and found, and those who still haven\u2019t been found in unmarked graves at residential schools across Canada,\u201d said Hollowell.<\/p>\n

More than 4,100 people are documented as having died in the residential school system while the sites of unmarked graves hold the remains of more than 1,900 unaccounted for individuals, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cReflecting on what this day means to every Canadian comes down to awareness and education, not blame,\u201d Hollowell said. \u201cIt\u2019s about acknowledging the past, learning from it and never repeating it in the future. It\u2019s important to understand that we need action, not just words. Actions can be small yet have a huge impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hollowell\u2019s great grandmother, June Jean Powless, was a survivor of the residential school system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never had the chance to meet her, but she\u2019s a big reason why I am outspoken about Indigenous issues and why they are near and dear to my heart,\u201d Hollowell said. \u201cListening to my mom, she said that my great grandmother never recovered from her time in residential schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intergenerational trauma needs to be addressed and actioned to walk the path of recovery, said Hollowell.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sins committed in residential schools not only negatively impacted the children, but also their families and subsequent families,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to understand intergenerational trauma and start healing and recovering as a country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hollowell said wearing orange on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation \u2014 also known as Orange Shirt Day \u2014 is a small gesture that carries a big message to raise awareness of the impacts of residential schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving an Indigenous perspective in sports, especially with women in hockey, is such an honour and has given me opportunities to connect with so many individuals,\u201d Hollowell said. \u201cI hope others use this day to take the time to learn about a culture that once faced being erased.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each time Keelee Hollowell hits the ice with the Brock women\u2019s hockey team, it comes with an opportunity to reflect on her ancestry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":80812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7484,3319,6833,1,4,38,58],"tags":[256,4437,522,10765,7010,582,7584,4620,668],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80810"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80810"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80817,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80810\/revisions\/80817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}