Reconciliation flag-raising honours survivors of residential schools
The fourth annual flag SASKATOON raising ceremony for reconciliation brought both laughter and tears to spectators in front of Saskatoon City Hall.
Residential school survivors, community leaders, and others came together for the ceremony, to recognize the history of residential schools, and to honour the survivors.
“There’s a lot of people that still don’t know what happened. There’s a lot of people that don’t even know what a residential school is — and I would like to let them know what happened in those places,” said Frank Badger, who went to residential school for 10 years.
“Myself, at six years old, I was hit with a logging chain by one of the supervisors, and to make things worse, the supervisors that hit and beat us were Cree people like us. I’m looking at them and thinking they must be afraid of the nuns and the priests because I don’t know why they’re doing this. You don’t do this to your people — but it happened.”
Badger is one of many survivors who attended the ceremony. Speaking at the podium, he recalled how after residential school, he became an alcoholic. This all changed when his son was two years old, and his daughter was six months old.
“Growing up I was never ever told I was loved,” he said in an interview after the ceremony.
“The more I thought about it, if I don’t quit drinking, my kids are going to have the same life I did. They’re going to go through the same things I did.
“They’re going to be hurt over and over and over again. So I quit drinking because of the love I had for my kids.”
He says it’s important to hold these ceremonies each year “because of what (the survivors) have been through, and because of how they were treated.”
“For people to acknowledge us, and say ‘We’re sorry for what happened to you,’ that means a lot to me,” he said.
Shirley Isbister, president of the Central Urban Metis Federation, says the ceremony is an important reminder.
“We need a reminder of what’s going to keep our city together. Saskatoon is so rich in diversity and it’s our job as people to mine that commodity and to get everyone excited about working together, going to school together,” she said.