MANITOULIN—The new Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Truth and Reconciliation Vehicle (TRV) certainly turned heads among students and school administration and members of the many communities it visited on Manitoulin Island last week.
“It is an OPP initiative,” stated John Hill, OPP provincial constable with the OPP provincial liaison team. “I was really pleased with the conversations we had with the students in the schools about Truth and Reconciliation and the good working relationship the OPP has with the UCCM Anishinaabe Police Services and the Wikwemikong Tribal Police Service.”
“The students I had the opportunity to meet were so happy to see the OPP vehicle (the only one of its kind in Ontario), with symbols that they recognize,” said Constable Hill. “Not just the students but school administration and teachers. It has been a really positive three days.”
Jamie Peltier, senior constable with the Wikwemikong Tribal Police Services (WTPS) said the idea of the (TRV) cruiser, “is an OPP initiative. It is designed to provide an awareness of Truth and Reconciliation issues and is the OPP way of bringing awareness of the issue and the call to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Wiikwemkoong was fortunate to have the first tour of the cruiser.”
Robert Beaudin, principal of St. Joseph’s Anishinabek School in Sheshegwaning First Nation said, “the idea of the OPP and the Anishinabek Police Services coming to the school definitely helps in relationship building. It shows the OPP and UCCM Police is not so much about enforcement but about being service oriented in the community. It is getting beyond the enforcement aspect.”
“The officers and the new (TRV) cruiser were well received by staff and students at the school,” said Mr. Beaudin. “We have been trying to include our police services in the school activities more frequently. And there has been nothing but success in this initiative from both.”
“Seeing both police services together with the cruiser at the school was good, and all part of the relationship building.”
Constable Hill provided information from the OPP that explained, “the vehicle design, which is supported by the Indigenous Advisory Circle to the OPP, is intended to raise awareness and promote learning about truth and reconciliation and to serve as a visual reminder of the OPP’s ongoing commitment to broader organizational and community knowledge and understanding of issues impacting First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples.”
“The vehicle is merely a symbol of the OPP’s continued dedication to build relationships of trust, mutual understanding and respect, between police and Indigenous people and to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Calls for Justice.”
“As part of the OPP’s dedication to reconciliation, co-development strategies are being used to ensure changes made to policies, procedures and practices that affect Indigenous peoples are guided by survivors, elders, knowledge keepers and Indigenous community members.”
There are 215 feathers on the orange cruiser. “In May 2021, the remains of 215 Indigenous children were detected in unmarked graves on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Subsequent investigations identified the locations of more unmarked graves on former residential school grounds across Canada,” an OPP release notes.
“On September 30, 2021, the government of Canada marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day is recognized as a vital component of reconciliation by the (TRC) of Canada and is intended to acknowledge the history and legacy of residential schools and to honour survivors, their families and communities. The responsibility falls on all Canadians to build and repair relationships with Indigenous communities, to hold space for survivors and to listen to their truth and lived experiences.”
Nadia McLaren, an Anishinaabe artist, storyteller, and Indigenous educator, began painting Adizokan in 2017 in honour of her childhood friend Catherine Gowan who was murdered on July 8, 1990, at age 15. In 2021 she gifted the artwork to the OPP Indigenous Policing Bureau. (IPB).”
“Adizokan is an Anishinaabemowin word that describes ancestors, stories, a traditional story and a remembrance of spirit, and can be translated to mean ‘a spirit being that carries wisdom and knowledge’.”
“Elements of Adizokan are reflected in the OPP Truth and Reconciliation vehicle design.”
The cruiser is orange. “Phyllis (Jack) Webstad’s grandmother gave her an orange shirt to wear on her first day at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. Upon arrival, it was taken and never returned. The orange shirt and wearing orange have now become symbols of the loss experienced by Indigenous children, families and communities.”
“The Orange Shirt Society held the first Orange Shirt Day in 2013 to support reconciliation and create awareness of the intergenerational impacts of residential schools. Their message ‘Every Child Matters’ recognized that all children are important, including the ones whose lives were stolen and the survivors who continue to heal from the trauma.’
In this design, the feather represents the path of life, truth and presence of Creator’s spirit. The while feathers represent the Seven Grandfather Teachings (respect, love, truth, bravery, wisdom, honesty and humility) and the importance of the teachings being used together. The orange feathers represent the Indigenous children who never made it home.
Reflecting on Nadia McLaren’s Anishinaabe teachings the animals displayed on the vehicle (bear, wolf, marten, fish, hoofed, turtle, crane, and eagle) honour Indigenous governing systems known as Clans. Coming after the story of creation, each clan has sacred responsibilities. Together they bring order to society and teach how people relate to the environment and each other.
The cruiser, with Constables Hill of the OPP and Jamie Peltier of WTPS visited Wasse-Abin Junior School and Wasse-Abin Pontiac School on Wednesday last week along with St. Joseph’s School in Sheshegwaning First Nation, Lakeview School in M’Chigeeng First Nation, and Central Manitoulin Public School in Mindemoya on Thursday. It visited Assiginack Public School and Little Current Public School on Friday.
