THE RIDGE, BATTLEFORD — Sunchild Law hosted their 10th annual commemorative Battleford Industrial School Cemetery Walk on Friday at The Ridge to honour the children who never came home and to remember and elevate the voices of Indigenous residential school survivors.
Mayor Ames Leslie, Eleanore Sunchild, Chief Sylvia Weenie, Senator Jenny Spyglass, Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson, and Indigenous Elders were among the many present and honoured to share their thoughts, hopes, and wishes for reconciliation on the important day.
Indigenous Elders and living survivors of the residential schools, along with local indigenous leaders, spoke on the importance of remembrance, reconciliation, and recognizing the intergenerational impacts of residential schools.
Karen Whitecalf, Project Manager for Acahkos Awasisak, spoke on the events, “... seeing all these people, all of these events … it’s amazing. It’s amazing how … two non-Indigenous communities and about eight First Nations communities, our elders, our chiefs were able to come together,” she said.
“It shows that we're taking steps towards true reconciliation, all of us getting together. This has never happened before. I’m truly blessed to be alive to see this happen.”
(Video by Averil Hall / Freelance Photographer)
