Power of youth celebrated at Shellbrook Truth and Reconciliation event

Hume Merasty from Little Red River First Nation was invited to come say a prayer and sing the Honor Song. While he shared the story of why people wear an orange shirt on Sept. 30, all 200 students sat in the gym in complete silence and listened.

Merasty, who was scheduled to attend a family member’s funeral, but did not want to cancel on the kids, told paNOW he hopes the students carry on the stories.

“Just to remember the past and how far we’ve come and to remember not just the bad things but also the good things for reconciliation.”

(Image Credit: Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Merasty attended residential school in Prince Albert in the early 1990’s, while his father attended the residential school in Duck Lake.

“He actually ran away because he saw what was happening and he ran all the way home from Duck Lake to Sturgeon Lake First Nation,” Merasty said, adding his father did not talk about his experience at residential school.

Nash Helm is a grade 11 student at W.P. Sandin High School and, acknowledging the large turnout on Wednesday, said youth have a role to play in reconciliation and correcting the wrongs that occurred at residential schools.

“I hope it helps us to move forward and helps us that people don’t forget that it happened,” he said.

When asked what today’s youth can play in correcting the wrongs of the past, Helm said it now his generation’s responsibility to carry on the stories and educate their children.

Staff at Evergreen Oasis Counselling and Consulting.

—

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Power of youth celebrated at Shellbrook Truth and Reconciliation event

What's Trending