AUNDECK OMNI KANING—To mark Truth and Reconciliation Day, Mnaamodzawin Health Services held a ceremony outside its office building on Friday, September 27. Staff gathered along with family members and friends of the community to honour those children lost to their families and the difficulties faced by those who survived residential schools.
September 30 is recognized as the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and it coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which has been observed on a national level since 2015, first begun in British Columbia in 2013. The main goal of both Truth and Reconciliation and the Orange Shirt Society is bringing awareness and recognition to the public of the intergenerational impact residential schools had and continue to have on indigenous communities.
The sacred ceremony held at Mnaamodzawin Health Services was led by Executive Director Craig Abotossaway. In the drumming and song, Mr. Abotossaway was assisted by William Trudeau and Nina Trudeau. Eleanor Debassige, recently retired from the organization, was seated among them as a guest of honour. Little Naanookshkaasii Husain aided with the smudging ceremony, approaching everyone in attendance with smudge bowl and feather. “It’s important to include the children,” Mr. Abotossaway said, “they need to be a part of these rituals; to learn and to understand.”
The ceremony was brief, but powerful in the songs chosen and the accompanying teachings Mr. Abotossaway shared—those dedicated to honour the ancestors and the lost children; the song to honour the feather and its role in the celebration, the giant feather that stands outside Mnaadzawin’s office building, commissioned for the purpose of Truth and Reconciliation. The final song was one of thanksgiving, “It’s important to be thankful and grateful,” Mr. Abotossaway concluded.
The ceremony was held on the Friday because most offices and organizations on the Island were closed on the actual day of Truth and Reconciliation, Monday, September 30. Those in attendance at the ceremony, most especially the non-Indigenous community members, were given an opportunity to learn and better understand the significance of this important day.
by Margery Frisch
