Daily Herald Contributor
Staff and students from the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) marched down Central Avenue and gathered at the river bank on Friday to honour Metis ancestors who were impacted by residential schools.
The walk also commemorated National Truth and Reconciliation Day.
“We are going to do a prayer and a smudge at the River Bank to honour the survivors of residential schools and focus on truth and reconciliation for our students,” said Beige Umger, a teacher at SUNTEP
The Students together with the staff took a walk to the River Bank where they offered prayers for the ancestors in honour of their sacrifice.
“We are coming together to honour residential school survivors with a walk and a smudge for our students. We are a teacher education program so modelling and being aware of Truth and Reconciliation is really really important to us,” said Ashley Parenteau, another staff member from SUNTEP.
“It’s important to understand Canada’s history and the truth before we can reconcile,” Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) SUNETP staff member Tyson Fetch added. “It’s Truth and Reconciliation. We need to know the truth, we need to honour the people that have lost their lives that didn’t make it home and those that did make it home but are suffering as a result of their residential school experience.”
The SUNTEP program has adopted the slogan ‘Reconciliation starts with Education’. This slogan was printed on their orange shirts with a design made by one of the students.
“For our students it is for them to be aware of the importance of this day and the significance that they can have planning activities to recognize the day. So our program believes that education is the way to make things change and happen, so it’s important for our students to see that and take it into their future classrooms,” staff member Christine Christian said.
Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is on Sept. 30. The Prince Albert Historical Museum has offered free admission from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on that day, and the PAGC will host a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the PAGC Health Centre.
The Prince Albert Tourism Centre will host an artist talk and tour by Leah Dorion at 11 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. and the Prince Albert Indian and Metis Friendship Centre will host ceremonies from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at the upper plains in Little Red River Park. The ceremonies run from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
