Residents walk down Main St. Melfort to commemorate National Truth and Reconciliation Day. (Cam Lee/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Community gathering

‘Beautiful to see’: Community Gathering for National Truth and Reconciliation Day in Melfort

Sep 30, 2024 | 10:56 AM

Hundreds of students, elders, and community members turned out to Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate (MUCC) Friday for a community gathering for National Truth and Reconciliation Day.

The event featured a presentation, a round dance featuring the drum group Digging Bear, and a walk from the school down Main St. Back to MUCC.

Elder Shirley Sanderson kicked off Friday’s event with a short speech and a prayer. Sanderson told the crowd she lives at James Smith Cree Nation but grew up on Ahtakakoop Cree Nation. She said her parents hid the kids from people who were taking children to residential schools. Sanderson also offered her words and prayer to the many who were lost to residential schools, and her prayer was done in Cree because, in her words, her grandparents spoke Cree and spoke no English and she wants them to hear her prayers.

Terri-Lynn Sanderson, Shirley’s niece, also spoke prior to the walk.

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She told northeastNOW the Indigenous people have gone through so much, and having the community gathering on Friday to recognize the history and to have that acknowledgement gives her healing strength and peace.

“It also gives me motivation to keep going, to keep teaching and to keep educating our youth,” said Sanderson, who is a mentor and Indigenous support for students at MUCC, Kinistino, and James Smith.

A round dance was held at MUCC during the Community Gathering for National Truth and Reconciliation Day in Melfort on Friday. (Cam Lee/northeastNOW)

The residential school legacy has affected Sanderson. She grew up with residential school survivors, and she said they brought those teachings home. During her speech, she said her mother often insinuated that Terri-Lynn should try to ‘fit in’ more with white people, and even suggested marrying a white man, echoing what her mom learned from residential schools.

Terri-Lynn said part of reconciliation for her is going back to herself and reconciling with that trauma and finding reconciliation in her culture.

“My culture has really helped me a lot, and it’s such a beautiful culture that I’m willing to share it,” explained Sanderson. “I’m willing to come to the schools here in our surrounding communities and share that knowledge with them.

Terri-Lynn also told the crowd that she didn’t learn Cree growing up as the language was taken from her parents in residential schools. She had to learn the language later in life as she learned more about her heritage.

Hundreds walked down Park Ave. and then Main St. to commemorate National Truth and Reconciliation Day. (Cam Lee/northeastNOW)

As she was preparing for the day’s activities, Terri-Lynn watched a number of stories from the National Film Board.

“There’s a lot that I am still learning about myself. I had no clue that any of this was going on, and to hear those stories helped me heal a little bit, even with my own parents’ stories and my sister’s stories. They never shared it, but I can see it and I can feel it.”

Terri-Lynn said delving into her culture has helped heal those in her family that grew up in residential schools.

She said sharing the circle with the community, students, and teachers at Friday’s event was amazing.

“It was very, very beautiful, very, very moving.”

The National Day For Truth And Reconciliation is Sept. 30.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK