Hundreds of people attended the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event at Brantford’s Mohawk Park on Saturday, September 28, 2024.
Led by Brantford Native Housing (BNH) and Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg, the event featured a host of activities including singing, dancing, and drumming, as well as opportunities to learn about traditional Indigenous ways of living from Two Row Education Services.
With Brantford’s close proximity to Six Nations of the Grand River and the city having a large urban Indigenous population, Danielle Russell, Director of Capital Development and Innovation at BNH, said that the day was about working to understand the Indigenous community and its experiences on a deeper level and honouring those who are longer with us.
“National Truth and Reconciliation Day is a day for us to honour all the children that have passed away or that have been part of the colonial destruction in Canada,” she said. “So whether that’s because of the Residential Institutions or because they were displaced by either the Millennium Scoop, which is still ongoing, or the Sixties Scoop, it’s all about making sure that we remember all of the Indigenous population across Canada.”
She added that while the day is about remembering, it’s also about acknowledging and celebrating the resiliency of Indigenous people.
“We have such a rich indigenous community right here in Brantford’s backyard and it’s important that we celebrate that and we honour everyone who is part of our Indigenous community and their resiliency,” she said. “Even if you’re not Indigenous, it’s so important to think of Canada’s history and to be respectful about who came before us.”
To kick off the event, Jacob Davis of Two Row Education Services, officially opened the day with a Thanksgiving Address, also known as The Words That Come Before All Else, to give greetings and thanks for the natural world in his Cayuga language.
His mother, Fran Davis, Owner of Two Row Education Services, then explained how her son sent greetings and thanks to the people, Mother Earth, the waters, the fish, the plants and medicinal herbs, animals, trees, birds, the four winds and thunders, the sun, moon and stars, enlightened teachers and finally, to the Creator.
“Some people call it an address, some people call it prayer, but the whole objective is inviting everybody to come together with our good minds and with that gratitude and optimism,” she said. “When we bring our minds together in that good way, we’re very powerful and we know we’re going to do good things and that good things will happen.”
As the event got underway, visitors spent a majority of the afternoon mingling with friends and family, indulging in Indigenous foods and drinks, partaking in smudging ceremonies, creating their own orange t-shirts and visiting the over 20 vendor booths set up throughout the park.
From beaded jewelry to clothing, wood work, crochet creations, leather goods, dream catchers and more, there were plenty of ways to support the local craft and art vendors on site.
Later on, many attendees also had the chance to listen to Fran Davis as she explained the Two Row Wampum and how it came about.
“I have some Wampum belts I want to teach people about because those are the original agreements of our Haudenosaunee ancestors. Some of them were developed with settlers that came here on to the shores of North America, and to this day they’re still not honoured,” she said. “I think it’s important that we all know about these and especially our kids because this is part of our oral tradition, and it’s valid. Colonial institutes tell us that if it’s not written down, it’s not valid but research is changing and oral history is being accepted into colonial institutions now, so I think it’s important that we teach our young people and the children about these.”
Overall, Russell said that her and the rest of the BNH team were happy with the turnout and were glad to see everyone partaking in the day’s activities.
“Last year, we got over 700 people out to this event on a bright and sunny day, but even though today was a little bit gloomy, we still have a very good crowd who have come out and we’re so thankful for that,” she said. “I have to give a big shout out to our caterer, CA culinary services, who were giving out traditional Indigenous food and also a big thanks to Tim Hortons who are sponsoring our free snacks, but other than that, just thank you to the community, we love having everyone come out.”
September 28, 2024.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
