My Journey Towards Reconciliation

       I am so grateful and honored to be in the class. My journey to reconciliation so far has been such an eye-opening and heartwarming experience. I know I have a lot more to learn but I am ready and willing to do so. In my past learning experiences I never actually felt the pain and suffering that the children in residential schools endured. Through “Garnets Story” and “Phyllis’s Story”, I felt the pain and it was so heartbreaking. In my past educational experiences, I was taught the same things over and over again. I did not feel the raw emotions because they were being taught very minimally, but having these resources in this course opened my eyes and made me want to take action and help with truth and reconciliation through education. In this essay, I explore what I have learned in this class that has begun my journey to reconciliation.

      To be honest, in my past learning experiences I never learned about the long-term effects of residential schools and how these experiences still affect many Indigenous peoples today. I also never understood how badly the past was just swept under the rug. The quote “these are not stories Canada needs to hear. These are stories Canada needs to feel” (Shattering The Silence, 2017) stuck with me because feeling the horrific things the children endured helped me understand the horror these children went through and how they feel to constantly be silenced about these injustices. Watching “Garnets Story” made me super emotional. It had me see and understand the extreme pain and abuse these children had endured. Garnet’s Story is so important because the truth needs to be told by survivors themselves. That is why I am so thankful for this course. We got to hear stories and read or watch resources that helped us understand and feel from their true perspective. The story that also moved me was by the founder of Orange Shirt Day, Phyllis Webstad. She chose the orange shirt because that was the colour of the shirt her grandmother gave her for her first day of Residential School (CBC Kids: What is Orange Shirt Day, n.d). Little did she know that she would never ever see that orange shirt again because everything was taken away from her as soon as she got there. It is so sad that the children experienced these terrible things but we need to talk about it and hear these stories from survivors. The truth must come out so we can move forward together.

      I wanted to represent my journey to reconciliation in something I had a passion for which is baking. The shape of the cake is an orange shirt to represent Orange Shirt Day. I wanted to incorporate an orange shirt because growing up in my past schools, I did not know what Orange Shirt Day was. I am so grateful that I know what it is now and can encourage my friends and family and even students in the future to participate.The orange shirt symbolizes the losses the children experienced in Residential Schools. Phyllis had her orange shirt taken away from her and it was a gift from her grandmother. She never saw the shirt again (CBC Kids: What is Orange Shirt Day, n.d). I also wanted to incorporate it into my aesthetic piece because of the saying that comes with orange shirt day: “Every Child Matters.” I love that saying. As a future educator, I want to keep that in my classroom at all times because every single child does matter and I need to let them know that and do anything I can to help them. Hearing “Phyllis Story” and how she created Orange Shirt Day was so inspiring and I knew that I would be sharing her story when I become a future educator. The next thing I added to my cake was the traditional Medicine Wheel. In elementary school I remember learning that it symbolizes healing and it is very symbolic and sacred. Healing is an important process of reconciliation. We need to acknowledge the past to let the Indigenous children who suffered heal and feel like they are not being silenced. I also added feathers as well to represent the Indigenous culture. The feather is also a symbol on most shirts for Orange Shirt Day. Lastly, I added the word “TRUTH” because that is key to reconciliation. The truth must be acknowledged and brought forward to heal the past injustices.

      In conclusion, this class has been such an amazing experience. I have learnt so much about Residential Schools and the truth about these past injustices that are very sad. I am so glad I got to dive deep into the true meaningful stories and resources in this class. It made me realize why I want to be an educator. I want to be a voice, so I can speak up about these things. I now know how simple it is to take actions that may seem small, but are still an important step towards reconciliation. I am so blessed for my journey of reconciliation and I know that it does not end here.