Truth, Reconciliation message of hope

CARP – The stories were filled with tragedy and heartbreak, but even then, the message of the second annual Truth and Reconciliation Ceremony held in Carp yesterday (Sept. 30) was one of hope.

Makatew Workshops’ Marc Forgette, the owner of the Carp-based business, organized the second annual event, moving to the Diefenbunker Museum on the grass behind the parking lot.

The new location provided much more space which was needed for the second annual event that attracted nearly twice as many people this year including several busloads of local students, than the first.

The sun was out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky for the somber ceremony that included the lighting of a sacred fire, stories, music and dancing.

Forgette welcomed attendees which also included MP Jenna Sudds, MPP Karen McCrimmon, Coun. Clarke Kelly and federal Conservative candidate Greg Kung.

Elder Doug Comegan lit the sacred fire and shared a ceremonial pipe with dignitaries.

Dokis First Nation member John Henri Commanda served as the traditional knowledge keeper as well as the emcee of the event. Commanda himself was a victim of the Sixties Scoop when he was taken from his parents at 18 months old and given to a Caucasian family to be raised.

He spoke of his own tragic upbringing and the challenges of being brought up in a residential school, but had a message of hope for the many youth at the ceremony.

“If anyone tells you, you are the leaders of tomorrow, you tell them John Henri Commanda said no, you are today’s leaders bringing you in to the future,” he said.

Commanda said to this day he still gets in trouble for calling himself an Indian.

“I’m Anishinaabe first, Canada second,” he said. “I still get in trouble for saying I’m an Indian, but it’s worth it.”

He asked the gathered community if they knew where Turtle Island is. Turtle Island, as it is known to the First Nations, is the entirety of North America.

“We use one phrase among many nations: ‘All my relations,’” Commanda said. “It means we’re all connected.”

Randy Kakegamick, a journalist with the APTN network, spoke, dance and sang at the ceremony.

“I want you to know you are safe,” he said. “There was a time in our history when things were different. For a long time, I was angry.”

Kakegamick’s parents were residential school survivors.

“I fell in to addiction for a long time,” he said. “I’m happy to say I came through to the other side. It’s a very solemn day. But also, it can be a day that changes us. It’s always going to be hard to have these conversations, but that’s how we heal. We go through it together.”

“You all matter,” Comegan said. “Let’s be a team so we don’t see this treatment anymore. We’re in it together.”

All money raised at the ceremony would go to support the Legacy of Hope Foundation.