Reconciliation conference continues with passionate pleas for progress
The Journey to Reconciliation Conference continued at Medicine Hat College with some powerful talks from guest speakers, and an earnest desire to see progress in relations between Indigenous peoples and other Canadians going forward.
In one powerful talk, MHC Indigenous student services co-ordinator Whitney Ogle talked about her own experience as a Lakota woman dealing the pain of inter-generational trauma, passed down to her in the form of sexual abuse from her grandfather and drug addiction in her early life.
“I have stopped that cycle,” she told an attentive audience. “I am very proud I stopped the cycle ... I try hard to work with my niece and nephews (in the community) to stop that cycle of inter-generational trauma.”
Ogle quoted a Hebrew proverb she often uses to express these feelings of pain and suffering emanating from her experiences.
“If you could read the secret history of those who we would like to punish, we would find in each life enough grief and suffering to stop wishing anything more on them,” she read.
She then explained how this proverb relates of her own journey toward forgiveness and reconciliation.
“To me what it is about now in my reconciliation is love,” she explained. “I love my grandfather and forgive him so much now because I know what happened to him in residential schools. You are not born to abuse and hurt people; you are taught.”
All around the campus at Medicine Hat College throughout the last few days are dozens of red dresses hanging on the walls. Entitled the “ReDress Project,” the display is intended to remind people about the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada.
“If you see all the red dresses around our campus, we are honouring Tina Fontaine, who was found dead in the Red River near Winnipeg,” explained project organizer Kiarra Leggo. “It is also to raise awareness for our missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. This is status and non-status.
“It is trying to say we as Indigenous people matter, and we deserve to have this right to be safe. Without this right, we are going to fail (as a nation). We are putting our trust into you guys to support us, and make this a big thing.”
Elder Harry Watchmaker came down from north of Edmonton to be the ceremonial leader for the conference. He said he is still hopeful for the future of reconciliation despite the current racial tension in Canada surrounding the Colton Boushie case.
“For me, it is an incident that happened, and we witness the negatives people are using; that is not our way,” he said. “We have to be on the positive side of life and respect each other. (We need) to get to know each other in this country. And what I would like to see is forgiveness; whatever happened we can forgive each other, and have a fresh start in the future, hand-in-hand. It is good to know each other.”
Watchmaker admitted he still faced racism at times in Canada but came to terms with it a long time ago.
“It’s mainly verbal abuse now,” he stated. “And that’s been going on forever. For me, I am so used to it that words can’t hurt me anymore. You can only hope that peoples’ hearts can change.”
Watchmaker said he was very happy to be in Medicine Hat.
“I travelled to Medicine Hat to come and support (this conference), and remind people about traditional teachings. I am more than happy to be here. There is good people here, and I have really enjoyed it.”
The Journey to Reconciliation Conference wraps up today at Medicine Hat College.