Senator Jenny Spyglass (L) and Chief Sylvia Weenie of Stoney Knoll First Nation. (Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

NDTR flag raising: embracing the future and honouring the past

Sep 23, 2024 | 7:03 PM

Trigger warning: readers may be triggered by the subject matter of Indian Residential Schools. To access a 24-hour National Crisis Line, call: 1-866-925-4419.

The Battlefords Agency Tribal Council (BATC) and the City of North Battleford gathered for a flag raising Monday to honour the upcoming National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept.30.

The day is an opportunity for Canadians to commemorate the tragic history and impact of residential schools and in doing so, pause to reflect on what reconciliation really means.

One of the people in the crowd was Sylvia Weenie who is a residential school survivor.

“I never thought I’d see the day when the government was going to acknowledge and work with the truth and reconciliation,” said Weenie who is the Chief of Stoney Knoll First Nation and a BATC council member.

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Weenie was a residential school student in Onion Lake Cree Nation, about 142 kilometres northwest of North Battleford. She remembered being given a number, and instead of using their real names, she and her friends could only refer to each other by the digits they were given.

“My number was 29, one of my sisters was 17, my other sister was 46, and my other sisters was 69, and my best friend was 68,” she recalled. “I can meet one of the people I went to school with, and instead of knowing their true names, I will only remember their number, and that’s very sad.”

She shared that if students accidentally called others by their real names, they would get beaten by the teachers as a consequence of challenging the authority. She said the school oppressed her Indigenous values and upbringing which made things very confusing.

“They took our language away, and they took our identity away. They took our belief system, our traditions, our culture, and everything Indigenous, and they made us feel ashamed of who we were.”

She further shared that she did, in fact, have good expectations before she set foot in the school. She believed they would be treated with kindness, ‘as the Bible teaches.’

“When I went there, it was a whole different story,” Weenie said.

David Gillan, mayor of the City of North Battleford addressed the crowd before the flag raising ceremony on Sept. 23 2024. (Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

Weenie believes the way society has started to acknowledge the past and have events like the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, helps Indigenous people feel proud of their identity again.

Despite the trauma she lived through, she understands that holding on to anger and resentment is futile, and understands that life continues to move forward regardless. As a way to prevent younger generations from experiencing the same injustice she endured, Weenie decided to step up and be someone who could pass on the Indigenous language.

“I’m trying to help our people wake up to that language within our young people. That’s part of it, but it’s just a tiny piece of the puzzle in rebuilding and restoring who we are as First Nations people,” said Weenie.

She has been a Cree language instructor in elementary schools since 1972.

She said not enough people are fluent enough in the Cree language to teach it, so she and BATC are trying to train more people to work in daycares, Headstart programs, and the school system, to teach it to young people.

Looking ahead, Weenie is confident that the new generation will help alleviate the generational trauma by openly embracing their identity and discussing it without fear.

“I have hope in our young people.”

BATC will hold a series of events this week to count down to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30. These include an Indigenous beading class, an educational talk, a barbecue, fireworks, and a round dance. Learn more on the BATC website.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com