FORT FRANCES – To honour the history, the lives lost, and the survivors of Canada’s residential school system, the United Native Friendship Centre is hosting an all-day event on Sept. 30.
The event will begin with an Awareness Walk starting at the Sorting Gap Marina at 9 a.m. and the walkers will end their journey at the Nanicost Residential School Monument at noon.
Transportation between the Sorting Gap and Nanicost Ground will be available.
From noon to 2 p.m. there will be a grab-and-go lunch with speakers.
Then from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., there will be a Powwow at the Nanicost Grounds.
“I think we’ll see a lot of people from our community, Indigenous and Non-Indigenous, gather together and support each other, and that’s important, that we all support each other,” said McMahon.
The United Native Friendship Centre in Fort Frances provides a series of different Indigenous support systems focused such as Health and Wellness Programs, Employment Services, and Cultural Resources Programs. But these programs centre around the foster the idea of community and togetherness.
Shelia McMahon, Executive Director of the United Native Friendship Centre tells NWONewsWatch that, “we don’t turn away anyone.”
National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is a day of reflection, education, and acknowledgement of the truths in Canada’s colonial past and continued effort by every Canadian to commit to reconciling that past and stand together for the future.
“When I think about Reconciliation, even with our urban Indigenous, we [as a society] need to change,” said McMahon, “I think the United Native Friendship Centre is there to help our urban Indigenous because a lot of people lost their culture, so we try to provide that. Language is important. Ceremonies are important. So, we bring those kinds of gathering.”
The UNFC is not alone in celebrating National Truth and Reconciliation Day. They have collaborated with many important organizations within the community like Gizhewaadizwin Health Access Centre, Seven Generations Educational Institute, Treaty Three Police, Giishkaandage’Ikwe Health Services, Agency One First Nations Lands, Ontario Provincial Police, Shooniyaa Wa’Biitong, New Gold, and Canadian Mental Health Association.
