National Indigenous parish, Alberta legislature mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

People gathered at Sacred Heart to honour the victims of residential schools on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Tuesday marked Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and both a church in Edmonton and the Alberta legislature commemorated the day.

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Truth and Reconciliation Day is dedicated to honouring residential school survivors, their families and the experiences of Indigenous communities.

The Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples is a national Indigenous parish based on Cree Treaty 6 territory in central Edmonton. The church aims to bring together Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in faith through sacred songs, traditional medicines, cultural workshops and community outreach.

Associate pastor of the church Mark Blom led a mass on Tuesday to reflect what he calls a “new Remembrance Day.”

“The government legislated residential schools and offered the churches opportunities to run them,” he told CTV News Edmonton.

“Now we realize that the mechanism of that was completely wrong and it was designed to fail, in some ways. So we want to atone for those mistakes.”

The mass involved a celebration of the Eucharist and an invitation to Indigenous elders and representatives to remind attendees of their experiences with settlers.

“It’s very important for [the church] to be able to integrate these painful truths of Christian history,” Blum added.

Alberta legislature

The east lawn of the Alberta legislature on Tuesday hosted Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani and Indigenous relations minister Rajan Sawhney at an outdoor event with performances reflecting reconciliation.

Bernie Makokis, a knowledge keeper at the event, said he takes the day to reflect and reminisce as a residential school survivor himself.

“Assimilation that they tried on us, it didn’t work on us. It only devastated our people. We were a lost nation for many, many years,” he said.

“But now that it’s coming back, and you talk about this today, about truth and reconciliation, you can feel it. You can sense it.”

The event featured sacred songs and performances, which Makokis later told CTV News Edmonton were very touching.

“[Music] goes into your emotions, then into your educational space, because music is a powerful tool. It’s spiritual … we feel good, and at one time, people were feeling that, until that was taken away from us,” he said.

“If you look at my spirituality the way it is right now, it makes me who I am. I’m proud of who I am, it gives me my values of honesty, kindness and determination, and those are entrenched in my ceremonies.”

He explained Truth and Reconciliation Day, for him, is a sign that Canadians are beginning to understand the impact of residential schools on Indigenous children and families.

“Today is a day I really celebrate, in terms of doing justice for my people … To be rightful citizens of our country, to be able to explain who we are as Indigenous peoples, celebrate our songs and tell our stories,” he said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti