The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) organized the gathering of thousands of students from the Edmonton region at the Expo Centre on Wednesday ahead of Truth and Reconciliation Week. Hosted by Edmonton-based Lance Cardinal and singer-songwriter Mimi O’Bonsawin, the two-hour event, called “From Roots We Rise,” delivered both education and entertainment. Three local residential school survivors shared their stories between motivational speakers and cultural performances. “The most important piece is ensuring that students are exposed to and have engagement with residential school survivors,” said Kaila Johnston, director of education at the Winnipeg-based centre. “Soon, we won’t have any individuals who directly attended. We’ll be engaging with intergenerational survivors who will be then carrying the stories (and) lived experience of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.” The event’s second purpose was to show the 3,500 junior and high schoolers who attended how to participate in reconciliation. “It’s very important that students and individuals watching the program come away with that understanding of the history, legacy (and) impacts of residential schools, but it does a great disservice if we leave people feeling that they can’t make or change anything,” Johnston said. “The idea is that those students can go and say, ‘Hey, I can be like DJ Nyla; I can be a world-class DJ. I can be one of these performers. I can travel across Canada. I can be a Stanley Cup champion.’ The main piece is really thinking and understanding that when we’re working together, supporting each other, we can all achieve great things.” Throughout Truth and Reconciliation Week, which runs Sept. 21-26, the NCTR provides free educational webinars for the public, as well as free programming for primary schools. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug
