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Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Saskatoon for the first Rock Your Roots, Walk for Reconciliation on June 22.

“To see so many people come out, and to see the diversity of the crowd walking side by side, it literally gave me goose bumps a couple of times! It was just such a powerful and positive statement of reconciliation and the resilience of Saskatchewan people,” said Rhett Sangster, one of the organizers and Director of Reconciliation and Community Partnerships with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner.

The event was the culmination of a month of reconciliation activities going on in the city to promote togetherness and awareness in the community.

“Our organizing committee was such an incredible mix of people who came together each week to eat together, to learn together, and very often, to laugh together. The group was incredibly diverse – we had people from all walks of life – over 30 organizations were participating by the end,” Sangster said.

Rock Your Roots saw people from different nationalities representing who they are, from the colourful ketenge fabric of Africa, to Scottish kilts, to beaded regalia of Canada’s First Nations.

About 120 people in the walk were recent immigrants and refugees to Canada, many who carried signs encouraging reconciliation, including those reading ‘I am from South Sudan’ and ‘I am from China.’
Also filling the streets were kids from Saskatoon schools – all sporting the newly minted Reconciliation Saskatoon logo on specially designed buffs. They walked alongside about 60 residential school survivors.

“To me it really validated that reconciliation is not only possible in Saskatchewan, but that the process of reconciliation – that of coming together and learning and building and planning together – that this is an incredibly rewarding and enriching experience for those who are willing to jump in and take a few risks and get to know their neighbor,” Sangster said.

The walk and month of activities was spearheaded by the Office of the Treaty Commissioner and the City of Saskatoon, as part of the City’s Declaration of a Year of Reconciliation.

The Central Urban Metis Federation Inc. and the Saskatoon Tribal Council joined the effort, along with a coalition of over thirty business, civil society, faith-based, and government organizations across the city.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner hopes this is the beginning of a regular event in the city and around the province. There have been calls to make it a national event, including one by Saskatchewan columnist Doug Cuthand.

Whatever comes of the Walk, there is already agreement among the organizing partners to continue working together. We want to create opportunities for Saskatchewan people to better know their neighbours, to honour survivors of residential schools and their families, and to inspire each of us to find our personal Calls to Action. This is the path for building a better future for us all.

A month of events to engage the community in reconciliation has kicked off in Saskatoon.

“Reconciliation is the restoration of a friendship after an estrangement,” said George Lafond, past treaty commissioner.

“It does not require agreement on every aspect of how to live together. It is not an apology that has been accepted once offered.

“Rather, it is about the process of coming together—a conscious choice that the future will be better if we work through difficulties and differences with an openness to hearing about, and responding to, the harm that has occurred.”

The idea is to engage and inspire all citizens on what it means to have reconciliation and to find their own personal call to action.

“Reconciliation is a process of opening up our hearts to be inclusive of all cultures and religious beliefs,” said Shirley Isbister, president of the Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.

”[It’s] a process of understanding that we may be unique but can still live and work together in harmony. Our call to action paves the path for future generations.”

Saskatoon has committed to responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action. It all started with a proclamation by city council on June 22, 2015 declaring 2015/2016 the Year of Reconciliation.

The month of events was created as partnership between The City of Saskatoon, Office of the Treaty Commissioner, Saskatoon Tribal Council and Central Urban Metis Federation Inc., along with 29 supporting organizations.

“The organizations involved in these events are setting the foundation to the work we can all do together to improve our relationships and be all inclusive,” said Felix Thomas, chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council.

The month-long schedule of activities will give Saskatoon residents an opportunity to:

• listen to the stories of survivors and their families,
• learn about our history, about residential schools, in an environment that is accessible to all,
• show-up to support events for reconciliation, and
• share your personal response to the calls to action with friends and family using #ReconciliationSK.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner celebrates the work of the National Centre of Truth and Reconciliation and we were excited to hear that a Saskatoon-based student was one of ten winners of a contest looking at Canada through a lens of reconciliation. Here is Christopher Sandford Beck’s story.

Saskatchewan teen Christopher Sanford Beck thought the Imagine a Canada contest, sponsored by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) was a “neat project” to enter. But little did he know that his entry would gain so much attention and become an award winning story.

Sanford Beck, 15, was one of 10 contest winners for his detailed short story on what he would love to see for the future of Canada. The contest required that students, “envision what the future of Canada will look like through the lens of reconciliation,” through art, poetry, film or an essay.

Set in 2036, Sanford Beck’s short story tells of a small farm family that is heavily involved with the indigenous community and other groups of different nationalities. He details how unified Canada had become with indigenous peoples as he illustrates how the family is visiting a reserve for a community celebratory event.

“I thought the contest by the NCTR was a neat one and I think it was important,” said the teen.

An avid reader and writer since he was six-years-old, Sanford Beck is way beyond his years in his thinking.

“It is important for indigenous people to be represented more than the way they are now and I thought it was important to express that with this story.”

He says he hopes to see more indigenous groups being represented on a national level and Canada will move into a more unified future, treating all peoples equal.

Though Sanford Beck seems to have a natural gift of writing, which may have been influenced by the fact that both of his parents are writers, he also thoroughly enjoys other activities. He is actively involved in parkour and free running, construction and social justice work.

“I love activism and would love to be a part of a lot of voluntary work in the future,” he said.

He is ecstatic about the award and thinks reconciliation is important for everyone in Canada.

“My friends at school are happy that I won the award and they love the short story. I’m glad they do because I think this is important,” he said.

The full story can be found on Sanford Beck’s blog, Crownshire’s Blog

— Sasha-Gay Lobban

Life lessons and the teachings around indigenous resilience were the focus of a panel discussion hosted by the Office of the Treaty Commissioner during Aboriginal Achievement Week.

The newly opened Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre at the University of Saskatchewan was filled with the smells of soup and bannock and the sounds of storytelling during the panel called Lunch, Learn, and Listen on Friday.

The five diverse panelists each brought a different life experience to the table from surviving residential school to reclaiming identity through dance.

Ruth Cameron spoke about growing up being separated from her family through residential school but she said she always held one lesson from her mother inside, “Be proud of who you are.”

Metis dancing and the arts was Amy Seesequasis constant connection to her indigenous identity. She said the carrying of history through stories is essential, not only for indigenous communities but for everyone.

“Through [dance] and through university I was able to be able to reclaim my identity,” she said.

The journey towards her indigenous identity started as a teenager, Jennifer Heimbecker explained to the room. Heimbecker said her mother was rejected by her First Nation when she married outside the community, and so she was raised in a small rural village.

“It was a life that was unfolding and unfolding and it continues to unfold. It gives me great pride to be who I am and come from the family I came from,” she said.

Political science student Xavier Fisher said growing up his home was filled with the sounds of the Michif language and it was essential to his identity. He is teaching himself his language again.

“I take it upon myself to be not only reeducating myself, but my children,” he said.

“That’s what that resilience is to me because it… is reclaiming my identity. Not only reclaiming my identity but reclaiming my children’s identity, reclaiming my family’s identity.”

Donnie Speidel, from the Lakota tribe, said working in the school system you can see the effects of the residential school. He said re-instilling and reclaiming the passion for identity is critical for future generations.

“I really believe that it’s a paramount role for all of us as parents and members of the community to retain and understand tradition, language,” he said. “Language is so vital to our survival and so vital to linking us to the past, present, and future.”

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner has supported Aboriginal Achievement Week since its inception. In 2012 OTC signed a strategic alliance with the U of S signifying the commitment of both institutions to educated students, staff, and faculty about the importance of the treaties and the responsibilities that flow from the treaties.

– By Geraldine Malone