Kingston seniors centre partners with Indigenous community for National Truth and Reconciliation Day – Kingston | Globalnews.ca

Thursday will mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, and in an effort to recognize the importance of the federal holiday, the Kingston Seniors Centre partnered with the local Indigenous community to take time out and reflect.

Don Amos, executive director for Seniors Association Kingston Region, says, “When the federal government brought legislation out, we wanted to find a way for our association to offer its support to the Indigenous community.”

Following the grim discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, and then hundreds more across the country, the Canadian government followed through with one of the Truth and Reconciliation commission’s calls to action.

This resulted in establishing a statutory holiday that recognizes and honours residential school survivors.

Lourie Young identifies as Cree-Metis. She is local to Kingston and says recognizing wrongdoings is the first step.

“If you do something wrong, and you know you’ve done something wrong, it’s confessing that you have,” Young said.

With around 50 people in attendance, the seniors centre had reflection, dancing, and singing. Out of respect for traditions and the intimacy of the ceremony, the smudging, moment of silence and speaking were not filmed.

“I think about the children that are no longer here, and they’ve gone to the spirit world. And even though they’ve gone to the spirit world, the creator knows where every bone lies, where every ash of their body lies,” says Young.

The City of Kingston made the move to mark the day as a civic holiday, granting the day off to many of its workers, in an effort to allow them time to attend a gathering and reflect, much like Remembrance Day.

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