National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Even those who did return home had their lives changed drastically. They had been shamed for speaking their own language, Hannah explained, and the time at residential school was so harsh, when they had children of their own, they didn’t know how to love them, an impact that is still being felt today and will be felt for generations to come. “Many of us are suffering, and it will take two or three generations to undo this damage,” Hannah said. “We have trauma that has been passed down through generations.”

 

It was Hannah’s dream to attend a boarding school like Shawnigan, but as a survivor of residential school, her grandfather was worried that she would be treated at boarding school the way he had been treated at residential school, and her mother had to explain the difference.

 

Hannah’s family made the drive from Tofino to support her in Chapel, and her parents addressed the students as well. Her father, Bruce (Muuchinink) spoke emotionally in Nuu-chah-nulth, the traditional language of the Tla-o-qui-aht people, and her mother, Iris (Hakuumalth), spoke in English about the residential school system and the children who never came home.

 

“Today, I am grateful, because you are able to look at us through a different lens now,” she said. “And I look forward to a really happy future for my child – and her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren. It will be her great-grandchildren who will walk in this world without knowing what racism was. It’s going to take that many generations for our people to move forward.”

 

Hannah, who is in her first year at Shawnigan, was involved in another event that will leave a lasting legacy from the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: the opening of Shawnigan’s Indigenous Resource Centre. The room reflects the School’s ongoing process toward reconciliation and greater education in that the work is never completely finished; in this case, its name is only a stand-in, and it will be given a formal name by students sometime in the near future.

 

Hannah donated a piece of her own art depicting a sea serpent, a symbol of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, to help decorate the room and joined Cowichan Tribes elder John George (Tsuhwuletse) in cutting the ribbon to dedicate the space. Hannah’s piece will join other pieces of Indigenous artwork to help create a comfortable space for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students and allies, and to acknowledge our partnership with local First Nations. Mr. George’s nephew, Jerome Seymour (Sum’elh) did a smudging ceremony in the room to cleanse the space and take away bad spirits and bad feelings.

 

The day started on the water for several students — both First Nations and non-First Nations — who chose to take the Thunder Indigenous canoe out on Shawnigan Lake in the early morning with Mr. Clay Panga, our Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator. Shawnigan Lake School is fortunate to have use of the canoe, which Thunder Rugby has entrusted to us when they aren’t using it.

 

Around the same time as the canoe was on the water, Mr. George was doing a blessing prior to the first game of the John Ferreira Memorial Field Hockey Tournament. Hosted by Cowichan Secondary School, the tournament is usually held at the Cowichan Sportsplex in Duncan but was played at Shawnigan this year. In addition to Mr. George’s song and blessing on the field before the opener, teams warmed up in orange shirts and reflected on truth and reconciliation throughout the day.

 

Also in the morning, about 25 students travelled to Duncan, where they were among an estimated 7,000 participants in a march organized by Cowichan Tribes. Some students volunteered with setting up chairs, and members of the Sustainability Council helped with cleaning up afterward.

 

The lunch of Indigenous-inspired cuisine, including smoked salmon on wild rice and bison meatballs, was also blessed with a song and prayer from Mr. George.

 

Lunch was followed by more activities that provided ways to reflect on the reason for the day. Students and staff played lacrosse — a sport with First Nations origins — in the Quad, capping off two weeks of P.E. instruction by Naomi Walser (Waabanungo kwe). Ms. Walser also led a session of dream catcher-building in the Learning Centre, one of several arts-related activities in the afternoon that also included an Indigenous Art Walk, in which approximately 20 international students explored themes surrounding reconciliation through artistic exploration in mixed media with teacher Ms. Jennifer Hutchins. Mr. George and Mr. Seymour led a sharing circle with the students as well, and the music of Indigenous hip-hop artists Supaman and A Tribe Called Red were also showcased.

 

Twice over the course of the day, students had the opportunity to view a screening in Mitchell Hall of the documentary Tzouhalem. Co-directed by Cowichan Tribes member Harold Joe (Xulputstun), the film examines the legend of Tzouhalem, a chief of the Quw’utsun’ people in the mid-1800s whose legend has grown over the last century and a half.

The day ended with a hockey game between Shawnigan's U17 boys' Prep team and visiting St. George's School at Charlie Purdey Arena. Shawnigan wore commemorative orange jerseys emblazoned with the Indigenous stag logo, and the game began with a ceremony featuring members of our First Nations community.