The Western Québec School Board acknowledges that the lands upon which we live, learn, play, and work are on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin/Anishinaabe people. We thank the Algonquin people for sharing these lands and commit, as an organization and as individuals, to an ongoing relationship that recognizes and respects the lands, traditions, and culture of the Algonquin/Anishinaabe people.
We recognize the importance of honouring the cultures and traditions of the First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities in Canada. We recognize and value the experiences, cultures, and traditions of our Indigenous communities. We are committed to listening, responding, supporting, and working together with our students, families, and communities.
Canada’s National Day of Truth and Reconciliation honours the First Nation, Inuit and Métis children who were murdered at residential schools, as well as the schools’ survivors, their families and communities. This solemn federal statutory holiday is a day to learn, reflect and discuss this painful history and the ongoing impacts of residential schools on communities.
Chanie Wenjack was a young Anishinaabe boy who was sent to the “Cecilia Jeffery Indian Residential School” in Kenora, Ontario, in 1966. Twelve-year-old Chanie, along with some of his classmates, ran away from the school to get back to their families. Chanie’s family was located over 600 kilometres away in Ogoki Post. All the students were caught shortly after their escape, save for Chanie. Tragically, having succumbed to starvation and the elements, Chanie’s body was found beside the railroad tracks a week after his escape.
Gord Downie, the late Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, writer, and activist was deeply moved by Chanie Wenjack’s story after it was brought to his attention by his older brother, filmmaker Mike Downie. In commemoration of Chanie’s story, Gord wrote ten poems that he then fleshed out into the ten songs of Secret Path. In 2014, Gord and Mike approached comic artist Jeff Lemire, who illustrated the story, bringing Chanie’s story and the many experiences like his, to the forefront of Canadian media and literature.
Gord Downie passed away in 2017, but his legacy and commitment to improving the lives of First Peoples in Canada lives on through the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. In collaboration with the Wenjack Family, the goal of the Fund is to continue the conversation that began with Chanie’s story, and to promote our collective reconciliation journey through a combination of awareness, education and action.
Located in Low Québec, St. Michael’s High School (SMHS), is proud to be a Downie Wenjack Legacy school. As part of this commitment, students and staff members practice reconciliACTIONS in their school and community throughout the school year. Late last school year, while the Secondary 3 (Grade 9) ELA students were reading The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline, many questions arose. The students wondered how to include younger students in these conversations without causing trauma. The class brainstormed how to approach this difficult topic from a place of fostering understanding and acknowledgment of our history.
Led by their ELA teacher Amanda Drury, a project was born from that conversation. When Ms. Drury approached both the principal of St. Michael’s High School, Debbie Picard, as well as the principal of Kaz’s Queen Elizabeth Elementary School (Queen E), Alana Albert, they were immediately on board and very excited to collaborate.
The project’s goal is to provide the younger students with knowledge to be better equipped to play an active role in reconciliation as they grow older – a way to help ensure that history does not repeat itself.
Now in Secondary 4, those same students have been preparing throughout September to visit Queen E to speak to all the elementary students on Truth and Reconciliation Day. SMHS students in both ELA and FSL classes, led by teachers Amanda Drury and Jenn Joss, have been given story books in both English and French, and have been placed in groups in advance.
Their Booklist:
- I am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
- When I was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
- Phyllis’s Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad
- When We Were Alone by David A Robertson & Julie Flett Stolen Words by Melanie Florence
- Stolen Words by Melanie Florence
Throughout this month, they have been learning what goes into a lesson plan and activity. In preparation for how best to respond to the elementary students’ questions, they have been brainstorming what may be asked and together, have been developing age-appropriate answers. Students were prepared to read their stories in English and French and were careful to properly pronounce the words and phrases written in Indigenous languages in the story books. The young students at Queen E were captivated by the high school students and many meaningful discussions were had after the story books were read.
Both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take place on September 30th. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community intergenerational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”. The orange shirt is a symbol of taking back and honouring culture, freedom and self-esteem of the Indigenous children.
To honour our role in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action, all the Western Québec School Board’s schools and centres, from Témiscaming to Namur and from Rouyn-Noranda to Aylmer work diligently and creatively throughout the school year to educate, discuss, host and reflect upon the intergenerational impact that residential schools have done to the lives and communities of First Peoples in Canada. This unique collaboration between St. Michael’s High School and Queen Elizabeth Elementary School is one of many events occurring across our school board on September 30th, as well as throughout the school year. We are proud to see so many wearing their orange shirts!
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Special thank you to St. Michael’s High School ELA teacher Amanda Drury for initiating this collaboration, as well as for providing the information for this article. Special thank you to the WQSB’s Indigenous Education Consultant, Drew Wapachee McDougall for reviewing this article and for providing the resources listed.