Greater Victoria students reflect on Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Friday is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is marked by Orange Shirt Day.
On Thursday morning in Langford, B.C., ceremonial First Nation dancers greeted students from Ruth King Elementary and Spencer Middle School. Those students were dressed in a sea of orange.
"We wear orange shirts because of a young girl that was six, who wore an orange shirt to school and it was taken away from her," said Vicki Ives, principle of Ruth King Elementary.
That little girl was residential school survivor Phylis Jack Webstad. Her experience on the first day of residential school has now become the symbol of truth and reconciliation in Canada.
This was Grade Five student Noah Bertland reading a poem he wrote in front of the students:
"Residential school, really mean, eating very little," he read.
"Our schools today, super kind, cool."
Bertland's poem was contrasting today's education system with that of Canada's residential school system.
He says in class he has learned extensively about residential schools and the atrocities that resulted from them. It’s a lesson that isn’t lost on him or his fellow students.
"So that they know not to start them again," said Bertland.
Students from Spencer Middle School talked about what National Truth and Reconciliation Day means to them.
"It means thinking back on what happened," said Brooklynn Barker-Hobbs, a Grade Eight student at Spencer Middle School.
"It really wasn’t fair what happened to all the kids that lost their lives to the residential schools," she added.
Students are pictured at Pioneer Park in Brentwood Bay, B.C., to mark National Truth and Reconciliation Day. Sept. 29, 2022 (CTV News)
In Brentwood Bay it was a tidal wave of orange. Hundreds of Central Saanich students converged on Pioneer Park to hear a moving speech from Talia Child, a Grade 12 student at Stelly’s Secondary School in the Indigenous leadership class.
This was Child at the podium as she spoke to the large crowd:
"I’m sharing my story today because truth-telling is part of the work today, truth-telling is essential to reconciliation," she said.
Talia Child, a Grade 12 student at Stelly’s Secondary School in Central Saanich, B.C., speaks to hundreds of students in Pioneer Park. (CTV News)
She also spoke about her family's experience at residential schools.
"Their names are Mildred Hunt and Ivy Louie," said the Grade 12 student.
She went on to talk about the recently-discovered unmarked graves of innocent Indigenous children, and the highway of tears.
"Today I wear my original regalia because in 1921, my relatives were arrested for potlatching," said Child.
It was a powerful message full of personal family stories – stories that will hopefully set the tone with the next generation.
"Because we still have a long way to go," said Child.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.