Survivors’ Flag raised in advance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Survivors of residential schools along with members of various First Nations communities gathered outside of Saskatoon City Hall on Monday morning to raise The Survivors’ Flag.

The flag is meant to honour residential school survivors and all the lives and communities impacted in the past.

The raising of the flag was done in the leadup to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Saturday.

Irene Sharp, a survivor of the residential school system, explained what the raising of the flag meant to her.

“This is such a beautiful day for me and all the survivors. We need people to realize where we’re coming from with the flag and also what we do,” she explained.

“We’re proud to be survivors and have friends of the survivors group to be with us and understand us. I have so much comfort in being with my people and I want the other people to understand where we’re coming from and why we’re doing this,” she added.

While National Day for Truth and Reconciliation itself has become a stat holiday for some, it’s a day when the Indigenous community hopes people can learn, reflect and remember what happened in the residential schooling system and to Indigenous people and their families.

Sharp wants people to come together and learn what the survivors went through.

“It’s a come-together (moment). Come and be with us. Be welcoming to us; it’s a family day for everybody, so come,” she stated.

Saskatoon Tribal Chief Mark Arcand noted while it’s just the day most people will talk about, he’s hopeful people will not just focus on the day but rather the month and year.

“The month of September is very triggering for families because this is when they were taken away from their homes,” Arcand said. “This is why I say this day is not just one day, it should be every day of the year. It’s about recognizing and remembering about how we can make it better.

“When we talk about how we can make this better, it’s about getting this into the education system so everybody can learn about the past so it never again happens in the future,” he added. “And then how do we heal people so they can have a quality of life?”

Several events are planned to take place in Saskatoon on Saturday for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

A powwow is taking place at the SaskTel Centre on Saturday and Sunday. There’s also a breakfast combined with a walk starting at 10 a.m. at the Central Urban Métis Federation building in Saskatoon.

Survivors, First Nations community members and members of the public listen to speeches from speakers regarding the Survivors’ Flag and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Shane Clausing/650 CKOM)