{"id":96068,"date":"2024-09-30T16:41:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T20:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=96068"},"modified":"2024-09-30T19:46:43","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T23:46:43","slug":"gallery-brock-unites-to-learn-heal-on-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2024\/09\/gallery-brock-unites-to-learn-heal-on-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation\/","title":{"rendered":"GALLERY: Brock unites to learn, heal on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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, M\u00e9tis and Inuit communities.<\/p>\n

Robyn Bourgeois, Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, said the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation brings grief and mourning \u2014 but where there is trauma, there is also strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children held at residential schools experienced horrific abuse in a system designed to erase their very identities,\u201d she said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Survivors\u2019 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\u00a0Treaty for Action, documenting the tangible steps being taken to apply the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada\u2019s (TRC) Calls to Action to their work at the University.<\/p>\n

\"Five<\/a>

The Survivors\u2019 Flag was raised at Brock University to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday, Sept. 30. Hadiya\u2019dag\u00e9nhahs First Nations, M\u00e9tis 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.<\/p><\/div>\n

Monday also included a reception for The Legacy of Hope\u2019s\u00a0Killing the Indian in the Child \u2014 Generations Lost: The Residential School System in Canada<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concept can be difficult for people to really wrap their head around: Your child is taken \u2014 you\u2019re told they’re going to school \u2014 and then didn’t come back for months or years, if at all,\u201d said Cindy Biancaniello, Director of the Hadiya\u2019dag\u00e9nhahs First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuit Student Centre at Brock. “The \u2018sea of orange\u2019 I\u2019ve seen today shows that people are standing with us as we move forward in healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day concluded with a series of community events at the University\u2019s men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s events followed a month of programming<\/a> 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.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Written by Lorrie Gallant, a lecturer in Brock\u2019s Indigenous Educational Studies program, the book is about the experiences of residential school survivor Dawn Hill.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Brock Sports, in partnership with the Hadiya\u2019dag\u00e9nhahs First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuit Student Centre, held a ceremony to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation prior to the Brock men\u2019s lacrosse game at Alumni Field on Monday, Sept. 30.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cHearing Dawn\u2019s story as captured in the book \u2014\u00a0and having her join us in person to share her story \u2014 was particularly moving,\u201d said Director of Indigenous Educational Studies Programs Sheila Cote-Meek. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leanne Taylor, event co-organizer and Chair of the Faculty of Education\u2019s Equity and Social Justice Committee, said the large turnout \u201creflects the ongoing need for greater personal awareness and collective\u00a0learning as we take responsibility for incorporating reconciliation into our everyday lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock researchers also hosted an applied theatre activity this month to reflect on anti-Indigenous racism in Canadian health system delivery.<\/p>\n

Second-year Applied Health Sciences master\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Robyn Bourgeois, Brock University\u2019s Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, leads an impactful discussion on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada\u2019s (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.<\/p><\/div>\n

Expanding on the work of a\u00a0Brock-led transdisciplinary research project<\/a>\u00a0funded under the New Frontiers in Research Fund,\u00a0the dramatizations focused on the Indigenous strand of the research led by Sherri Vansickle, Assistant Professor in the Indigenous Educational Studies program.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWe, as people, are storytellers and using theatre to respectfully share our stories in a good way has been very powerful,\u201d Vansickle added.<\/p>\n

Bourgeois said seeing the University community come together \u201cto collaborate on marking this day has been really beautiful,\u201d and that she is grateful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunities to learn about Indigenous histories will continue throughout the year.<\/p>\n

Information on future events can be found on ExperienceBU<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t