Sask. students take part in football camp, smudge walk for truth and reconciliation

In designation of Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation connected Sept. 30, the First Nations University of Canada hosted their yearly smudge walk Friday.

The locomotion successful solidarity marked the schools’ actions to beforehand consciousness and beforehand reconciliation.

Hundreds of students and unit took portion successful the march astir the assemblage field to honour residential schoolhouse survivors and the children lost.

“For implicit 100 years we had children that were taken from their location and forced into residential schools,” Jacqueline Ottmann, First Nations University of Canada president, said.

“Many of them didn’t travel location and truthful determination were gravesites, graveyards wrong the schoolhouse boundaries and truthful we honour those children. We retrieve those children and besides the survivors.”

Two 100 students from bluish Saskatchewan besides took portion successful the smudge walk. The lawsuit besides featured a greeting tube ceremonial and assemblage lunch.

“They provided an astonishing vigor to the smudge locomotion today,” Ottmann said. The students volition besides be the Saskatchewan Roughriders crippled Saturday afternoon.

The kisiskâciwan crippled volition diagnostic an Indigenous designed and inspired Roughriders logo passim the stadium and successful warmups.

After the students participated successful the university’s smudge walk, they made their mode to Mosaic Stadium to articulation the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a shot camp.

The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation is simply a spouse of the Northern Saskatchewan Football League (NSFL), a six-aside shot league wrong the Northern Lights School Division, serving schools northbound of La Ronge.

Samson Sanderson, who plays moving backmost for the Churchill Chargers, described the experience.

Trending Now

“My friends and I get to enactment connected our skills… it’s beauteous chill getting to conscionable the players,” Sanderson said. “Of course, I privation to beryllium a shot subordinate erstwhile I americium older. Playing present would beryllium beauteous sick.”

Brian McDonald is simply a wide receiver for Churchill.

“It is an astonishing accidental to travel retired here,” the 17-year-old said. “It’s breathtaking being connected a CFL field. Where I play the tract is mode smaller, but it is beauteous sick. I similar it.

“My large extremity is to play determination astatine the adjacent level.”

Kick disconnected for the crippled is acceptable for 1 p.m. Saturday against the Ottawa Redblacks.

Truth and Reconciliation Day takes spot connected Sept. 30 each year.

The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) is disposable 24 hours a time for anyone experiencing symptom oregon distress arsenic a effect of their residential schoolhouse experience.