'A good day and good medicine': National Truth and Reconciliation Day marked at 'emotional' event in Hamilton

An event this weekend in Hamilton's Gage Park is focused on remembering and honouring children who went to residential schools — and also supporting the next generation of Indigenous people, say organizers.

"It's going to be an emotional day, but it's also going to be a very proud day. I'm proud that we're able to speak for the ones who aren't here, tell their stories and honour them," Ashley Masters, who works with the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC), said Friday. "It's gonna be a good day and good medicine."

Called "E yeti ya da nohs da:t Ogwak sa dah," in Cayuga language, meaning "Lifting Up Our Children," the now-annual event, marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is put on by the HRIC.

"Our main focus is the children – remembering them and honouring them," Masters said. "Every year, we have to bring awareness and educate people on the survivors and the ones who didn't make it home."

Last year, she said, she had a vision that inspired the events' logo – hands holding up a medicine wheel surrounded by sweet grass – in which children were reaching up with their spirits.

"The children that are gone are still here," Masters said. "We're still remembering, talking about them and letting their story live on."

The event kicked off Friday morning and continues Saturday. Masters said she estimates that more schools were sending students this year than last, which she's pleased about, since it means more kids are learning about this history and its impact.

"I think the schools in the past didn't tell the truth about how bad the residential schools were," she said.

For Audrey Davis, HRIC's executive director, education is a key part of the event, which includes speeches from survivors, as well as music, dancing, games, lacrosse and, on Friday, dinner. 

Davis said she's noticed settlers becoming much more engaged with and aware of Indigenous history.

She said the Indigenous community marks the serious day in a way that is also engaging and inclusive of anyone. "We've lived this all our life," she said. "I know some people are tentative in asking about the history. Ask if you don't know. If that person is uncomfortable talking about it, they'll let you know." 

Paige Porter of Beads into Beauty is one of the vendors at the event. She describes her handmade work as "a lot harder than it looks" but "always worth it."

Porter, who is Oneida Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River, said she wanted to be part of the event in order to help spread awareness.

"Being a part of it is also something very special to me. I myself have grandparents who were in Indian residential schools. I feel that it's something that I need to be a part of for the ones who can't be here." 

Friday afternoon, people gathered around the table for NPAAMB, an organization that provides youth employment and training support around southern Ontario.

Their spin-to-win game drew a line of children eager for prizes. Job developer Michele Sands said coming out to community events is an important way to let young people know about the supports her team provides. "They're our future leaders, and they're very important. So we want to give them the tools they need to be successful," she said.

Masters, who is Mohawk Turtle Clan from Six Nations, is also thinking about the future. She said that many of her community's elders and seniors kept their trauma inside. She wants today's children to know they don't have to do that. 

"We want to make sure that they're not having that trauma or the stigma," she said. "And if they do, [that] they know where to go to get help. We're looking for our future and we want to change the future."

The event runs Saturday by the Gage Park bandshell until 5 p.m.