National Truth and Reconciliation Week

Posted 10/1/2021

The Lamonts continue to learn about Canada.

On our July tour of north-west BC, my wife Kathini and our 9 year old daughter Poppy and I spent some time in Prince Rupert (the most northerly Canadian city on the Pacific coast). Whilst exploring we came across the war memorial in front of the City Court House (built in 1952). To mark the locating of unmarked children’s graves at former residential school sites across the country, shoes, candles and gifts surrounded the war memorial. “Our glorious dead” and “their name liveth forever more” – inscribed on the monument – took on a different, poignant and challenging significance in front of the court house, the symbolic centre of justice in the region.

Kathini and I found it difficult to explain this monument re-imagined to Poppy.

Our journey took us onwards to Haida Gwaii, the archipelago west of the mainland, where we were generously hosted in Massett by Anna W., Groves’ class of 2018. A proud Haida, she told us that her father, as a child, had been sent down with other members of his family to St Michael’s Residential School, Alert Bay, a small island off the north-east coast of Vancouver Island.

After the inner passage ferry southwards, we decided to visit Alert Bay. We stood at the site of the demolished residential school (2015). It had finally closed as a school in 1974.

We were struck by the incongruous black and white photo on the information board – children dressed in cadet uniforms, shouldering arms with wooden rifles and marching to the beat of the drum – far removed from their cultures, languages, and traditions.

It is difficult to comprehend that the last Canadian residential school closed down in 1996, only 25 years ago.

We have a diverse student and staff body – many of us come from different backgrounds, countries, and contexts, and might not be equally familiar with Indigenous history. We are all here together as part of a learning and unlearning journey.

Here at Shawnigan, we encourage all members of our community – both students and adults – to take this opportunity presented by National Truth and Reconciliation Week to learn more about the history of residential schools in Canada, listen to the stories of survivors and their families, and reflect on how each of us can play a part in the journey of reconciliation.

It all starts with respect with listening and conversations at the heart of our engagement.

A few years ago, a group of Elders from the Cowichan Tribes ran “The Village” workshop for our staff. It prompted a colleague to write the following:

“I wanted to thank you for the fantastic Pro D experience I received today. It moved me beyond words. It fundamentally changed the way I now look at First Nation peoples and the unspeakable challenges they have faced….I also think all our Grade 11/12s should experience the Village Workshop. What an opportunity / a teachable moment to have our students genuinely understand First Nation peoples’ history from their voices and stories. I think I would be ashamed if our students at 45 years old are learning this for the first time like I did today.”

We are extremely grateful to our Indigenous students and allies who have created the program for National Truth and Reconciliation Day. We trust that conversation will help us to consider what actions we might take both individually and as a community.

We were encouraged when last year one of our students, from the Dene First Nations in the Northwest Territories, welcomed educators from across BC and observed:

“Over the past four years, I have noticed Shawnigan welcoming and embracing the numerous cultures on campus. Shawnigan has made me feel as if my First Nations heritage has a place here in our community.”

What we seek here at Shawnigan is not to focus only for one day or for one week but take conversations every day of the school year and to ensure that we create a sense of belonging for each member of our community.

As I walked into the Main Building at Shawnigan this morning, our students had lined the hallway with pairs of children’s shoes – a visual reminder of a very different type of boarding school experience on Vancouver Island than Indigenous students in the past experienced.

I am proud of how our students have responded with humility, respect and courage to National Week of Truth and Reconciliation. Please click here for some of the initiatives introduced this week by our students and our Indigenous Advisory Committee.

As Dr. Brad Baker, our guest speaker, observed in his talk today: We are so lucky to be located in the Cowichan Valley, with both the largest population of and the most culturally and linguistically diverse Indigenous communities in British Columbia. There are so many opportunities for engagement, learning, and cultural sharing – just beyond our gates.

I ask that all of us draw on Shawnigan’s values of “Curiosity, Compassion, Community, and Courage” each day of each week – and direct our efforts on acknowledging and celebrating the cultural richness, linguistic diversity, and Indigenous wisdom of our contemporary First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities.

In the spirit of open hearts and open minds.

Chenchenstway / we are in this together

Richard D A Lamont

Head of Shawnigan Lake School
30 September 2021 – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Back