OUTLOOK - The final day of September marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, and in the town of Outlook, events held to mark the occasion helped local students gain more understanding of the day's significance and also took a lot of emotion out of grown adults.
On Thursday, September 28 at the Bounty Theatre, Grade 8 students from Outlook High School were joined by a few other adults in witnessing the presentation held by George Fayant, a Métis man born and raised in southern Saskatchewan near the Qu'Appelle Valley. Fayant's presentation to everyone was centered on the history and the significance of the Red River Cart, which he has been building for 25 years. Fayant builds the carts in various scales and he routinely gives presentations and workshops on the history of these carts, including how they were built using antique tools.
The Red River cart was a mode of transportation used by Métis people in the Prairies during the settlement of the West in the mid-to late-1800s to carry loads across distances. The name of the cart derives from the Red River, along which the Red River Colony (1812–70), inhabited mainly by Métis peoples, was settled.
One of the more interesting aspects about these carts is that they're completely held together by connecting joints in the wood rather than spikes or nails, allowing them to be disassembled at any time. This would be useful to the people who used them generations ago, as in addition to its use as a transportation vessel, the cart served as a temporary home during long trips.
Talking about the history of the cart, George also touched on a number of other items, such as beaver pelts, showing everyone a top hat that was constructed out of the material. Discussing the aspect of trading, Fayant explained that any transaction being carried out had to be an equal one. For example, if you had a number of animal pelts to trade and you were seeking a rifle, then you had to match the height of the gun in pelts in order to acquire the weapon.
Getting the students involved in the process, George invited a few of them to try and assemble the cart themselves, and everyone was then invited to take part in a crafts activity building their very own handheld mini carts, providing an opportunity for the kids to take home a keepsake after having their eyes opened to the ways of life for some in our country.
Two days later on Saturday, September 30, the Bounty Theatre hall was once again the location for a special event, this one being a blanket exercise hosted by Sharon Meyer. A member of the Cree Nation, Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation, Meyer is a guest speaker and a Medicine Wheel knowledge keeper who recently retired from her position of First Nation and Métis consultant for the North East School Division, where she helped incorporate Indigenous ways of learning into the classroom.
Beginning the day with a ceremonial smudge, Meyer walked around to each person sitting in the circle, who wafted the smoke towards them. Going over some historical facts, she spoke of medicine and how it's not just the items bought in a health store that can be called as such.
"Your words are medicine," said Sharon. "Your racism can bring someone down, and your positivity can bring someone up."
A series of video clips aided Meyer's presentation throughout the morning, including music videos and one clip signifying how no Indigenous person can "just get over it" in Canada, pointing to the country's dark past when it comes to First Nations relations.
The biggest portion of the morning's events then took place in the form of a blanket exercise.
The blanket exercise is an interactive way to teach and learn 500 years of Canadian-Indigenous history. Blankets are placed on the floor and participants stand on them, taking on the roles of First Nations people arriving to Canada, or 'Turtle Island' as it was known in many circles, while others may portray European colonizers, who come in and begin to systematically remove personal items, rights and the identities that strip away at the heart of the Indigenous people. The exercise is narrated, beginning the story hundreds of years ago and bringing it all the way up to modern times, showing the shrinking and depletion of the things that make First Nations people who they were back then and who they are today.
The exercise, in which more than a dozen people in Outlook took part in that day, was an emotionally-draining one for the participants. Watching the blankets get removed by settlers and seeing the group of people become more cramped signified the reductions of their First Nations identities in Canada as the years wore on. Whether it was completely eye-opening for some and a harsh reminder for others, there were plenty of tears shed following the exercise, in which a sharing circle was held where everyone was given an opportunity to share what they learned from the day's events.
Some harsh truths and some eye-opening revelations came out of that circle, and the one consistent thing that was noticed was how hopeful everyone was for a better and more understanding future.
"The one thing I always hear, the word 'hope' comes out," said Sharon, adding that it's what she routinely hears from other participants in the exercise.
Following the event, everyone enjoyed a lunch of soup and bannock that was held in the hall, with food supplied by the commercial kitchen of Outlook High School.
Whether change continues to happen and empathy continues to be had from non-Indigenous people will be up to the people of Saskatchewan and all of Canada to ultimately decide.
