REMEMBER THIS
“Remember this moment,” Michelle Sylliboy, a StFX assistant professor and a descendant of Indian Residential School survivors, told those gathered Sept. 30, 2021 at StFX for a remembrance ceremony marking the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. “Our shared history was never fully written about or talked about,” she said during part of the ceremony held outdoors at Alumni Plaza where all were invited to tie an orange ribbon on an installation in memory of the over 6,500 children who lost their lives in the residential school system. Indigenous Student Society volunteers spent countless hours cutting the ribbons for the installation, which remained on display through October, Mi’kmaq History Month. “Tell your families what happened and tell them they should never repeat that history again,” she said during the ceremony that began in the Joyce Family Atrium in Mulroney Hall. StFX hosted the event in collaboration with local Mi’kmaw partners and the StFX Indigenous Affairs Office. During the event, Prof. Sylliboy provided an explanation of the 215 children statement found in the commemorative garden outside StFX’s Coady Institute.
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StFX ALUMNINEWS l WINTER 2022
Terena Francis ’01 ’20, StFX Coordinator, Indigenous Student Affairs, and descendant of Indian Residential School survivors, also shared powerful insights, while she honoured the legacy of her parents. Ms. Francis says she was overwhelmed by emotion from the support shown. “I ask you to continue to educate yourself on our shared history.” StFX Knowledge Keeper and elder Kerry Prosper ’09 explained the importance of the smudging ceremony he performed that morning. Elder Prosper also led a prayer of remembrance. StFX President Dr. Andy Hakin noted that the university closed so that people can come together to listen and reflect on a shared history that challenges us so very much. For there to be reconciliation, he said we must learn and speak the truth, we must come together to reflect on the historical injustices inflicted on the Indigenous population, injustices that continue today. This history cannot be swept under the rug. Dr. Hakin called on everyone to commit to a deeper responsibility, to take as many opportunities as they can for deeper insight into our shared history, to listen and learn and work together for healing. “Let’s fully embrace the fact we are all Treaty People.”
