It was a day to remember, learn and hope.
On Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, hundreds of people came together at Market Square in Belleville to reflect on the tragic history of the country’s residential school system and the lasting impact it has had on the Indigenous community.
Many of the event’s speakers also talked about how this day is a way for Canadians to learn more about the tragedy and also how to move forward.
Young Indigenous people played a prominent role in the event.
Eight-year-old Gimbo, a student at Prince of Wales School gave the opening address in Mohawk.
Eight-year-old Gimbo delivers the opening address in the background while a woman signs in the foreground at a ceremony for the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in Belleville’s Market Square, September 30, 2021. (Photo: Alana Cameron/Quinte News)
A trio of students from St. Theresa Secondary School spoke about the importance of Orange Shirt Day and urged everyone to keep the conversation about reconciliation going.
Teacher Gavin Foster from Harry J. Clarke Public School also sang selections from Gord Downie’s Secret Path.
Gavin Foster performs at a ceremony for the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in Belleville’s Market Square, September 30, 2021. (Photo: Alana Cameron/Quinte News)
Chief R. Don Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte told Quinte News there is a lot to recover from but it is possible.
“But there’s also, it’s a time to rise to the challenge for Canada to write the next chapter of Canadian history and so that the legacy going forward will be more positive.”
Chief Maracle suggests national and provincial leaders get together for a forum to have a conversation about the responsibilities governments should be taking on as they work towards reconciliation.
Eighty-six-year-old Wilbert Maracle spoke to the crowd about his time at a residential school in the 1940s.
He remembered his first night there after travelling there with his mother and younger brother.
“When I got up the next morning and the boys’ master opened the door and I said to the boys’ master, ‘Where’s my mum?’ And he says, ‘She’s gone. You gotta stay here.’ And we cried, two of us cried. My brother, seven-years-old. I’m nine.”
Wilbert Maracle addresses the crowd with Chief R. Don Maracle at his side at a ceremony for the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in Belleville’s Market Square, September 30, 2021. (Photo: Alana Cameron/Quinte News)
Still, there were several moments of levity during Mr. Maracle’s speech.
He reminded everyone that after 86 years and all he has been through, he can still get up and dance.
Tyendinaga artist Holly Curran said this day is about the sharing of knowledge.
“It’s not just about today but it’s about every day moving forward. How are we educating our country about the injustices about what we can do next and how do we move forward? And I think it’s about listening. About hearing the stories from our elders, from those who experienced residential schools. And it’s just really about learning more about it and trying to do better.”
Curran, along with her partners, have been working on what they call the Orange Project.
They’ve been creating beaded items to sell for this day with the proceeds going to back into the community towards Indigenous survivors and education towards reconciliation.
Betty Maracle performs at a ceremony for the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in Belleville’s Market Square, September 30, 2021. (Photo: Alana Cameron/Quinte News)
The event was organized by the city’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Committee Chair Sean Kelly says more than 10 leaders from the Indigenous community helped to put the day of recognition together.
“I got a sense of just the hurt that the residential schools caused, the pain for families, locally and across the country. But the local stories really resonated with me and we’ve got a lot of healing to do and we’ve gotta work together.”
Similar ceremonies were held across the country honouring both the children lost to, and those who survived, the country’s residential schools.
Drummers perform at a ceremony for the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in Belleville’s Market Square, September 30, 2021. (Photo: Alana Cameron/Quinte News)
