Irene Nippi sees National Truth and Reconciliation Day as a way to show pride in a culture she was once told to abandon.
The elder from Kinistin Saulteaux First Nation was six years old when she was first sent to a residential school, an experience that compels her to take part in reconciliation ceremonies.
“I went to a residential school for a long time, and there are a lot of things that happened like sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and spiritual abuse,” said Nippi.
Beginning in the 19th century, over 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and communities and sent to church-run, government-funded residential schools where abuse, malnutrition and inadequate health care were rampant.
For Nippi, the schools stripped away more than family.
“It was taken away from us to be proud of who we are,” Nippi said, adding that the loss also extended to her culture, traditions, belief system and ceremonies.
On Wednesday, Nippi was among hundreds of others who donned an orange shirt and lined the inner bowl of the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon for the Saskatoon Tribal Council’s fifth annual Truth and Reconciliation Powwow — a day marked by dancing, singing and reflection.
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“All of them who went to the school are slowly getting their lives back but are still not ready to talk about what they experienced at the residential school,” she said, adding that she hopes events like Wednesday’s powwow can help start conversations.
Travis Toto, a drummer from Whitefish River First Nation, said he and his fellow members of the Eagle Boys Singers come for healing.
“It warms our hearts,” Toto said. “Just being around the drum and being around each other, it’s a good day.”
The federal government officially established Sept. 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021 following recommendations in a report commissioned by the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission six years earlier.
For some, attending the powwow in Saskatoon has already become a tradition.
“The grand entry always makes me weep. Even just talking about it makes me teary,” said Koreen Geres, an attendee at the powwow.
“I believe we need to get to know each other, that’s the best way for reconciliation,” Geres added.
Walking through the crowded concourse minutes before the grand entry, attendees of all ages could be seen meandering about. For some, the powwow marks a learning opportunity for future generations.
“My kids are extremely young, so the fact that they can come out to this particular event is quite special,” said Jordan Baptiste, adding he wants to show his kids to be proud of who they are.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission put forward 94 Calls to Action.
Since then, only 14 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action have been completed in the last 11 years, according to the independent monitor Indigenous Watchdog.
Another 41 recommendations are considered in progress, while 24 are stalled and 15 have not been started.
Saskatoon Tribal Chief Mark Arcand said reconciliation remains an ongoing process, and that progress is not coming fast enough.
“There’s still a lot of outstanding calls to action, and it’s been a few years, and that’s where we talk about accountability,” Arcand said. “It’s good to have them, but if we’re not enacting them, we have major problems.”
Arcand said the real measure of reconciliation is what happens beyond the one day set aside to mark it.
“Let’s start making a change together as a city, as a province, as a country, to be the leaders of working together because it’s tough when people don’t recognize the negative things that happen to First Nations people, and we have to have some hard, uncomfortable discussions,” he said.
— with files from Canadian Press
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