Kaná:ta — village for all

Sept. 30 is the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, a time when we recognize the legacy of the residential school system. For those of us at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, which is also home of the Mohawk Institution Residential School, it is an especially poignant reminder of the trauma caused by what was part of Canada’s official policy of assimilation.

This tragic chapter in Canadian history has been commemorated for years. Prior to being proclaimed as a national holiday, Sept. 30 was referred to as Orange Shirt Day. On Sept. 30, 1973, just 50 years ago, 6-year-old Phyllis Webstad’s new orange shirt was taken away from her on her first day of the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia.

That act has come to symbolize how Indigenous culture has been stolen from generations of Indigenous Peoples, communities and nations across Canada and the lasting damage this has caused. As Mohawk Institute survivor Tony Bomberry reminds us, “residential school is the only school where you didn’t graduate — you survived.” Sadly, we know not all children who were brought to the Institute did survive.

The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation provides the chance to reflect on this history and how the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can be healed. It is not easy and it will take time, but it is possible, providing there is a willingness to understand the hurt of the past and see the possibility of a new relationship.

Truth requires the recognition of a dark history and its ongoing impacts. While the Canadian government and citizens have begun that process, there is still work to do in acknowledging the pain caused by the policies and systems enforced on Indigenous Peoples.

Reconciliation (or as Métis Scholar David Garneau has pointed out the more appropriate term “conciliation”), requires an awareness and appreciation of “the other.” That is the start of the process that will bring about deep and meaningful healing, and create bonds that will organically lead to societal change — which in turn will help to change laws and policies that continue to marginalize and oppress Indigenous Peoples and Nations.

Organizations such as the Woodland Cultural Centre are partners in, and provide resources for, the processes of both truth and reconciliation.

The Mohawk Institute ceased operations in 1970, but it still stands — one of only two such buildings remaining in Ontario — as a memorial to the history of the residential school system and the experiences of Survivors.

Woodland is also a place for those who want to understand and celebrate Indigenous culture. Indigenous histories stretch back to time immemorial; we are so much more than a system that tried to destroy us. Through our museum, art gallery, education programs and events, we preserve, promote and strengthen Indigenous language, culture, art and history. We hold space for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to better understand our philosophies, to build relationships, and to engage in the truth-telling that is so necessary to healing.

The word “Canada” comes from the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) word kaná:ta meaning a village. Based in a Rotinonhsyón:ni (Hodinohsho:ni) world view, it means that everyone has a role and responsibility, that everyone is cared for, that no one goes without, and that we keep each other safe and maintain peace in our community.

While the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canada has often been at odds with the spirit of the word kaná:ta, at Woodland Cultural Centre we are grateful to all who are helping build a kinder, more inclusive and just future for this territory.

My hope is that we will all find truth and conciliation in kaná:ta.