'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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.