“What great good will come if we heal this moral wound that 152 years of residential school has inflicted upon Canada’s Aboriginal peoples.” Aboriginal Bishop Mark MacDonald
I felt that Canada took a huge step in this healing process on Sunday May 31st when over ten thousand native peoples, members of mainline Christian churches and many other Canadians joined hearts and hands to make the five kilometer solidarity walk from Gatineau to Ottawa’s City Hall. As the sea of people - youth, middle aged and elders made their way over Portage Bridge and overflowed into Marian Dewar Plaza, I sensed that we were all one. Something much larger than ourselves was happening. As we walked together, respect, love and solidarity filled the air as our hearts pulsed in the rhythm of the native drumbeat along the route.
Once gathered in the plaza, a succession of dignitaries addressed the exuberant, colourful crowd: local band chiefs, mayors, Kathleen Wynn as Premier of Ontario, Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson and T&R Chair Justice Murray Sinclair who held the assembly in the palm of his hand. Mr. Sinclair urged the people, “Never forget this day. It is the day we began to move forward in Canada.”
As we reached out to each other in that gathering, I felt that all of Canada was present with us in that moment. Surely great good will come from the resolve and determination of a nation bent upon healing the wound that residential school has inflicted on the people of the land.
Jean Moylan CSJ