The week of Monday, Sept. 26 to Friday, Sept. 30 marked this year’s Truth and Reconciliation Week, a span of five days with events across four Sherbrooke campuses dedicated to raising awareness about the realities that Indigenous Peoples face in Canada. Events varied from exercises to panels, discussions and movie screenings, and closed with the annual “Every Child Matters” walk through Lennoxville. 

The week was funded by the Pôle régional en Enseignement Supérieur de l’Estrie (PRESE), a Sherbrooke-based organisation that provides funding to student projects aimed at encouraging collaboration between schools in the Eastern Townships. For the organisation of this year’s events, PRESE provided a budget of $10,000 for a collaborative effort between Bishop’s University, the Université de Sherbrooke, Champlain College Lennoxville, and the Cégep de Sherbrooke. Throughout the week, events were arranged between the institutions, with each school having their own day in the week to highlight and plan activities for their campus. This was done in order to facilitate collaboration between the schools and to encourage attendance at all events. 

While Truth and Reconciliation Week has been organised by the Indigenous Cultural Alliance at BU in past years, this year was the first that involved collaboration between the four Sherbrooke institutions. “For me, I just find that’s such a good example for others, what it is to reconcile differences,” said Vicky Boldo, Bishop’s University’s Special Advisor of Indigenous Student Support. “Everyone needs to be educated about this, and I think the more we collaborate the better,” said Indigenous Student Support Assistant, Shawna Jerome.

The week began on Monday, Sept. 26 with a conference explaining the week’s itinerary and intentions, and two events were held by UdeS: a screening of Devoir de memoire, which depicts the mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples by Canada’s medical system, and a discussion panel. 

On Tuesday morning, Sept. 27, Bishop’s hosted a blanket exercise headed by Vicky Boldo and Shawna Jerome. The exercise opened with a floor covered in blankets, which, over the course of the event, were taken away to represent the loss of Indigenous land to colonising powers. “It’s a very interactive way of learning the history and what was imposed on Indigenous Peoples,” said Jerome. “It highlights a lot of the land that is taken away.” 

After the conclusion of the blanket exercise, Boldo hosted a debrief with the attendees in which the main points were reiterated and discussed. “Overall we had a good turnout, and it was well-received,” said Jerome. 

Later on Tuesday, the Allyship Panel event took place in the Agora, with student and faculty speakers discussing how best to support Indigenous students. Each speaker had five minutes to talk about their work in allyship and what people can do to be a better ally, before taking audience questions. “It was really more of a conversation that we were trying to create,” said Jerome, “a conversation which is good for everyone to have about allyship.”

The same day, the Anti-Racism and Discrimination Committee (ARDC) organized an event for athletes covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action. During the event, athletes learned about the call to action associated with their jersey number.

On Wednesday, Université de Sherbrooke held several events: a conference on the Abenaki language and art, a ceremony, performances, and sharing of songs.

On Thursday, Champlain College Lennoxville organized a panel covering reconciliation, relationships, and land.

The week culminated on Friday, Sept. 30, which also marked Canada’s second annual Truth and Reconciliation Day, with the march through Lennoxville. The day began with speeches and performances in the Quad; Annick Corbeil, the Manager of International, Indigenous, and Intercultural Relations at BU, gave a land acknowledgement, encouraging attendees to have difficult conversations. Shawna Jerome explained the significance of the orange shirt, and shared the words of Odanak Chief Richard O’Bomsawin, Suzie O’Bomsawin, and Cree Grand Chief Abel Bosum. SRC President Camilla Rizzi spoke to the audience about her personal experiences growing up in an Indigenous community in Nunavut. Vicky Boldo performed Wildflower, an honour song for women and children.

The march started on College Street, went through Lennoxville, and ended on Coulter Field, where planks of orange plywood were distributed amongst attendees. The planks were held up to create a bird’s-eye mural reading “every child matters.” 

Fourth year student and march participant Léontyne Haché spoke about how emotional the walk made her. “One thing that really shocked me and hit me emotionally was seeing the little kindergarten kids that were there and were cheering us on. That made me tear up…and really reflect. They might not really understand what they’re cheering on but I hope they keep that mindset throughout their education and keep pushing that message,” said Haché.

Attendees of the march were cautioned against putting aside truth and reconciliation after the end of the day. “It’s a history that involves all of us,” said Boldo. At the end of his speech, Chief O’Bomsawen concluded, “always remember, children first.”