In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, St. Anne school community came together in a meaningful and heartfelt way to honour the children, families, and communities affected by residential schools.
Leading up to this important day, Ms. Carissa, the school’s Indigenous Support Worker, guided students and staff through learning and reflection rooted in the spirit of truth and reconciliation. Through the sharing of Phyllis’s books and videos, they learned about the significance of Orange Shirt Day and engaged in thoughtful conversations around how we can demonstrate reconciliation and move forward together in unity.
As part of our learning journey, students created promise/ prayer ties using the four sacred colours of the Medicine Wheel—each one carrying a message of hope and a promise for reconciliation: Yellow–We promise tolisten and learn, Red–We promise tobe kind and care for each other,Black– We promiseto showrespect to all people and cultures, White–We promise toremember the children in our hearts and share the truth.
On the day of our event, the school first gathered as a community to reflect on the 7 Grandfather Teachings—Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth. They focused especially on Respect, our monthly virtue, recognizing it as the root of truth and reconciliation. Together, they explored how respect is not only one of the teachings, but one that connects and supports all the others.
Together, they walked in reflection, carrying these promises and prayers in our hearts. At the end of their walk, we placed our prayer ties on a specially created banner that will be displayed in our school as a daily reminder of our ongoing commitment to reconciliation.
This banner serves as a symbol of hope, action, and remembrance—a daily visual reminder that Every Child Matters / Chaque Enfant Compte / Gichi-apiitendaagoziwag Akina Abinoonjiiyag and our schools’ commitment to truth and reconciliation. We also created reflective artwork for our school display for this day.
