Deanndra Stonestand carried the flag from Melfort & Unit Comprehensive Collegiate to City Hall (Rachel May/ northeastNOW staff)

By Rachel May

Truth and Reconciliation event

Melfort celebrates National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Oct 1, 2021 | 11:00 AM

On Sept. 30, the City of Melfort celebrated Canada’s newest holiday with a prayer, round dance, walk and flag raising at city hall.

The event began with a welcome and prayer from Elder Riley Burns.

Burns, who is a residential school survivor, said when he came home, his family was never the same.

“When I got home I was something else. My family disintegrated when they [were] together, they were always drunk,” Burns said. “My mom left me and my dad took care of me. When you come to a home that’s broken up, who broke that home? Residential schools and the government broke it.”

Those in attendance walked from Melfort & Unit Comprehensive Collegiate to City Hall in order to raise a flag.

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The flag was endorsed by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and designed by local resident, Tara Aisaican, to honour the victims of the residential school system.

Memorial organizer, Deanndra Stonestand, says the flag represents more than just Truth and Reconciliation.

“‘It’s different from an every child matters flag. To me it symbolizes the truth history of Canada. Yeah people look at in the way, its free. I hate to say it but it was built on genocide and it has been for a long time. Now that the flag has changed, people are recognizing it more,” Stonestand said.

At city hall there was a memorial filled with teddy bears and shoes representing those who lost their lives in residential schools.

The memorial was organized by Deanndra Stonestand. (Rachel May/ northeastNOW staff)

Cultural coordinator and Melfort Museum curator, Gailmarie Anderson, said it’s important to recognize the past and work together on building a better future.

“We are all in this together so it’s wonderful that it’s intergeneration cause as Riley said the generation today that survived the schools carry scars,” Anderson said. “Be positive and continue to develop relationships, to continue to have everyone in our city be proud of who we all are.”

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Rachel.May@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RachelMayFM