Timmins honoured Truth and Reconciliation Day by listening
Truth and reconciliation gatherings in Timmins honoured the day by highlighting the importance of listening and learning from the emotional stories of people who attended residential school.
The Timmins Native Friendship Centre asked supporters to reflect on what they learned and to act on it going forward.
Speakers told those who came out to support that this is neither a day of celebration nor one of sorrow, but a day to listen and learn.
Storytelling is at the core of indigenous culture and the centre's executive director says having local elders share their experiences attending residential school is the best way to educate people.
"Expressing and telling our story, that in itself is a healing process and passing on some knowledge. Like we've–not only have we heard individual experiences, but we also receive some teaching out of that," Mickayla Bird with the centre said.
The friendship centre thought people would also benefit from learning the Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers, which say that to live a good life, people need to value love, wisdom, respect, truth, humility, honesty and courage.
"These are teachings that anybody should be fostering in their worlds ... I think it's really important to start on a day like today when we have all these people gathering together on this issue," Caitlyn Kaltwasser, a career developer at the centre, told CTV News.
Officials said the call for more meaningful action to atone for the atrocities committed against Indigenous people is a critical part of the day, however; so is learning about the people themselves.
To help this generation learn it is important that residential school survivors share the traumatic experience they went through and the lasting impacts it has had on them and First Nations communities.
"It's meant to help build us to be better people and to also create the pathway for a better future ... We want unity, we want to feel equal and we also want to heal. But also recognizing that we're not all on the same hearing journey. We're all starting at different points in our lives and that's ok," Bird said.
Speakers noted that these conversations should not be limited to Nation Truth and Reconciliation Day.
Bird said the friendship centre is figuring out how it plans to honour that and hopes members feel taken care of and that the city as a whole can support them.
More information on events being held by the centre can be found on their Facebook page.
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