YORKTON - Through the years the relationship between First Nations people and non-First Nations Canadians has been strained.
That there have been issues in the relationship is not surprising given early immigrants were basically an invading force who pushed First Nations to sign treaties and then often simply ignored what those treaties had laid out.
And, then there was the entire policy of residential schools with far too many of those institutions ran by abusive pedophiles who left defenceless children scarred for life. An entire generation suffered and that suffering was often passed onto the next generation.
What happened to First Nations people was simply reprehensible, and we are now still faced with how to facilitate healing, renew trust, and move on collectively to a better future.
That is were the efforts toward truth and reconciliation are critical for our future.
As Yorkton Mayor Mitch Hippsley noted at last week’s National Indigenous Peoples Day in Yorkton there is work to be done in terms of truth and reconciliation calling it a journey and it “will be a long journey,” but that he felt we are on the right path.
That of course has to be our hope, that finally we have taken steps to finally address the wrongs of the past so we can do better moving forward.
There is of course no way to ever fully correct the mistakes of the past, but by acknowledging them we can hopefully do better in the future – really we must do better.
A huge part of the process is finally recognizing the truth from the past.
“This today, and every day is the start of the truth being told,” said YTC Tribal Chief Isabel O’Soup at last week’s celebration, adding that the truth has not been shared enough. “. . . A lot of people don’t know the history of First Nations.”
O’Soup said bringing the truth out is a major element of truth and reconciliation efforts, suggesting that it means the truth.
“The truth needs to come out, needs to start being taught in schools,” she said.
For too long the truth of things such as residential schools was buried, but as we begin to openly talk of the past we can learn from it and grow beyond it.
That is why celebrations like the one marked in Yorkton June 21, hosted by the Yorkton Tribal Council is so important. It brought people together to celebrate in a way that honoured ancestors, spoke of the truths too long hidden, and looked forward to a better tomorrow.
As Hippsley noted, “We are all in this together . . . We are all treaty people.”
