'It takes everybody': Saskatoon students, staff walk for reconciliation
Students and staff from the Saskatoon campus of the First Nations University of Canada organized a walk for truth and reconciliation on Friday morning.
“We're walking in honour of all the Indigenous children who attended residential schools, those who didn't make it home, and also those who continue to be discovered,” said Daina Kary, vice-president of the student association on campus.
Dozens of people participated in the walk, which began at the campus and saw them reach Central Avenue before heading back.
One was professor Gilbert Kewistep, a survivor of the Muskowekwan residential school.
He says he hopes the walk can be a beacon of hope.
“For the young ones, and let them know that we can overcome. We can overcome. We all work together, and collectively we can make life better for everybody,” he said.
“I get emotional when I speak about my time in the residential schools, especially now having heard [about] the little ones that were found,” he said.
Kewistep was six when he arrived and he didn’t leave for four years.
“When I went, we were told not to go into certain places within the school that we were in and when this happened it brought back a lot of memories,” he said.
“Some hard times that I encountered, and that were done to us. I won't speak about it again, but very traumatic.”
'IT TAKES EVERYBODY'
Kary said she’s been honoured to have Kewistep as a professor.
“Just being in a class with him, hearing his truths — it's important for everybody hear the truth.”
Kary says in order for true reconciliation to occur, everyone will need to help.
“To be honest I don't know if I will see full reconciliation in my lifetime,” she said.
“It's definitely going to be a process, but it takes everybody to become a part of it, right? When you don't have everybody being a part, it's not going to be successful.”
Members of Truly Alive Youth & Family Foundation, an organization that provides support to visible minority and ethnic minority groups in Saskatoon, were among the group walking.
“It is very important for us to not only honor and improve our understanding of the Indigenous history, experience through stories, but also for us, as an organization and as individuals, to journey together to honour Indigenous children taken away but who never made it back home,” executive director Anthony Olusola said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
Significant police presence as Israeli flag flies at Ottawa City Hall
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.