[Article updated Sept. 22, 2021 with CCN addition, below]

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

“Let’s walk and talk.”

It is a simple action that the Diocesan Council for Truth and Reconciliation (DCTR) is hoping will help parishes and individuals reflect together on the hurt and damage of the residential school system and Canada’s colonial history, as Canada marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30.

The new federal holiday builds upon “Orange Shirt Day,” which has been marked on Sept. 30 in recent years, as a way to honour those who attended residential schools and to raise awareness about what was suffered and lost. Wearing orange was prompted by the experience of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, who as a six-year-old arriving at residential school in 1973 had her beloved orange shirt immediately taken away.

“On Sept. 30, orange is worn to show that no child should have their culture and faith stripped from them,” summarizes Myron Rogal, coordinator of Justice and Peace in the diocese of Saskatoon and a member of the DCTR.

With that history in mind, the DCTR is suggesting to parishes and individuals that people find a partner or friend and go for a walk on that day, taking some time to reflect on three questions:

• Were you ever rejected when going to school and how did that change you?
• In what ways have you seen Indigenous people rejected in your life?
• The next time you are tempted to judge instead of listening, what action will you take?

It is a simple action that reflects the DCTR’s own mandate in the diocese of Saskatoon:  “to provide a forum for listening and sharing, through stories and prayer” and “to raise awareness throughout the diocese about injustice issues, and barriers to reconciliation, and to discern a way to walk together on a path of understanding, education and action, fostering relationships in the light of the Gospel.”

Established in 2012 as a result of a promise made by the Catholic diocese at the national Truth and Reconciliation event held in Saskatoon, the DCTR is a “sharing and consultative circle” of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people providing guidance to the bishop and the diocese.

 Related:Bishop embarks on personal 50-km trek in support of Catholic TRC Healing Response

Related: Saskatchewan bishops launch fund-raising appeal to support residential school survivors and their communities

In a Sept. 10 message, Bishop Mark Hagemoen encourages the diocese to prepare to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30, and to pray for residential school survivors and their communities. “I encourage all of our parishes and Catholic communities in our diocese to observe this day with prayer and solemnity.”

Bishop Hagemoen adds: “I again pledge that I and our diocese will continue to walk a path of reconciliation and healing. The Gospel inspires us to walk in love and friendship as sisters and brothers of our One Creator, in His Son, Jesus Christ our common Saviour and Redeemer. I again ask us all to renew our ongoing commitment to building relationships of honour and respect, and to continue to take concrete steps on this journey of healing that must involve all of us. “

The bishop will celebrate Mass at 9 a.m. on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thursday, Sept. 30 at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, 123 Nelson Road Saskatoon, with the Mass also live-streamed at saskatoonmass.com

Following Mass, priests from across the diocese will gather for a “Day of Recollection” with presentations by Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI.

“I hope that other parishes will plan to celebrate Mass or other form of devotion or prayer service for the intention of this day,” says Hagemoen in his message to the diocese.

“I encourage our parishes, deaneries, and other Catholic communities to be creative about other ways to honour this day, either through education and/or service opportunities, or by joining with other larger civil ceremonies being planned by the City of Saskatoon and various townships, and with the Saskatoon Tribal Council.”

The Saskatoon Tribal Council has organized a concert to coincide with the first National Truth and Reconciliation Day, to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30 at Sasktel Centre, in honour of residential school survivors. The Every Child Matters Community Concert will include musical performances by Gord Bamford, Charlie Major and George Canyon as well as speakers, fiddle music and drum groups. Tickets are $35: https://sasktelcentre.com/events/ECM2021

Meanwhile, fund-raising efforts continue for the Catholic TRC Healing Response, launched earlier this summer by the five Catholic bishops of Saskatchewan in support of residential school survivors and their communities. Online giving can be directed to individual diocese or eparchy efforts at:  dscf.ca/catholic-trc-healing-response/Funds raised will go to support residential school survivors and their communities, in light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, and in consultation with Indigenous leaders, elders and groups.

Bishop Mark Hagemoen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon is also embarking on a 50-km run to raise funds and awareness about the Catholic TRC Healing Response: The 50-km Trek. 

PRAYER for RECONCILIATION and HEALING

O God, Creator and Father of all, with humility we your children acknowledge the relationship of all living things. For this we thank You, we praise You and we worship You.

We call on you, Great Mystery, the Word made Flesh – our Teacher, Prophet and Brother – to open our hearts to all our brothers and sisters, and with them to grow in the wisdom, honesty, courage and respectfulness shown in the Sacred Teachings.

Give us the vision and honesty to recognize that the we are all brothers and sisters of one human family, created and sustained by the One Creator.

As we deal with many challenges, may we never give way to fear and anger, which can be the source of division and threat amongst peoples.

We look to how God always gives to us a remedy for sins of prejudice and intolerance.

We see in God the Creator of all things, One who always provides and is generous – even given the abuses we have heaped on one another and on the earth.

We see in the Son, Jesus Christ – the innocent Victim who pours His life blood out from the Cross for all peoples.

We see how the Holy Spirit is God’s gift, alive in our world today – inspiring vision and hope that we can have the same mind and heart of God!

O Creator, show us the way to healing, forgiveness and reconciliation, and a renewed fellowship. +Amen

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Reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians takes on added importance on Sept. 30

By Brian Dryden, Canadian Catholic News

[Ottawa – CCN] – A day set aside to remember how Canada’s Indigenous communities suffered under this country’s residential school system will take on added meaning this year when the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 becomes a federal statutory holiday for the first time.

Many Catholic organizations and Catholic school boards across the country have been marking the day — also known as “Orange Shirt Day” — as an act of atonement and reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians for the Catholic Church’s role in the country’s residential school system since Sept. 30 was first observed as a day of remembrance in 2013. This year is the first time Sept. 30 is now an officially recognized federal holiday.

According to orangeshirstday.org, Orange Shirt Day evolved out of a project in B.C. “designed to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation.”

According to a history on the Orange Shirt Day website, former B.C. residential school student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad told how on her first day at residential school a new orange shirt bought by her grandmother was taken from her when she was six-years old and that is how Sept. 30 has become known as Orange Shirt Day ever since.

“It is an opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of residential schools and the legacy they have left behind,” a statement on the website said, adding that it is hoped that is “a discussion all Canadians can tune into and create bridges with each other for reconciliation.”

According to the federal minister of heritage at the time that Sept. 30 was made a federal holiday this past June, Sept. 30 is meant to educate Canadians about what the impact residential schools have had on Indigenous Canadians and their culture in Canada.

“Unfortunately, only half of Canadians know the history of the Indian residential school system and its long-term effects on Indigenous peoples,” federal Minister of Heritage Steven Guilbeault told the House of Commons during debate in parliament.

“This lack of historical knowledge has serious consequences for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, and for Canada as a whole,” he said.

“Setting aside a special day each year to take the time to acknowledge this painful history will help everyone learn and understand more about the realities of the residential school era. This is a positive step on our path toward reconciliation. This type of commemoration is a collective, public act of recognition,” Guilbeault said soon after the discovery of unmarked graves at a Catholic-church operated residential school in Kamloops, B.C. were discovered this past spring.

“This will also be a day of listening and healing for the entire country,” Guilbeault said of designating Sept. 30 as a federal holiday as of 2021.
Many Catholic school boards have been marking Sept. 30 since 2013, when Orange Shirt Day was first observed in B.C.

Pat Daly, director of education for Ontario’s Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB), said observing Sept. 30 is an important step towards reconciliation.

“We are committed to the work of Truth and Reconciliation in our HCDSB schools,” Daly said. “We do this by prioritizing engagement with Indigenous parents and community partners while supporting the delivery of Indigenous education in an inclusive and equitable manner.
“It is crucial that First Nation, Métis and Inuit histories and perspectives continue to be taught in our Catholic schools so that we can rebuild and reconcile the relationship with Indigenous communities,” Daly said.

According to the Catholic school board in the nation’s capital Ottawa, “wearing an orange shirt (or anything orange, even a ribbon) on September 30 shows that you recognize the impact that residential schools have had on multiple generations of Indigenous families. It shows that you understand the need for reconciliation and that you are open to being part of the discussion about the effects of Residential Schools and the legacy they have left behind. It shows that you believe that every child matters.”

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools is making Sept. 30 a Professional Learning and Development (PLD) day, and students will not attend classes: “As part of our collective response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, professional development for staff on this day will be designed to help deepen our understanding of—and commitments to—the history and impact of residential schools, reconciliation, and anti-racist education . We invite you to reflect on your own this day to honour the intent of the federal declaration,” states GSCS on its website. The Catholic school division will observe Orange Shirt Day with students on Sept. 29.

Joe Gunn, the executive director of the Ottawa-based Centre Oblat: A Voice for Justice, said it is important that Catholics such as the Oblates who operated numerous residential schools on behalf of the federal government in the past take responsibility and acknowledge past wrongs.
“Reconciliation can only happen if we face up to the truth of what happened,” he said.

While the federal government has now designated Sept. 30 as a federal holiday, which was one of the calls to action that came out of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that made its final report in 2018, not all provinces have followed suit.

The provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have not made the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation an official holiday this year.

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