Students at Foothills Composite High School were given the chance to hear from an Indigenous elder during a pair of assemblies to mark Orange Shirt Day.
Francis Wolfleg, from Siksika Nation, spoke at the Okotoks school Monday about his experience in residential school and the effects of the Indian Act on Indigenous people.
Student MJ Hansen said having Wolfleg talk at the school helps make the experiences of Indigenous people real.
“It brings it into the present,” Hansen said. “And it tells kids this is a current thing that is happening.”
During the assembly, Wolfleg said many of his classmates from residential school died in their 20s from alcohol, drugs, suicide or car accidents due to trauma experienced during or after their time at the school.
That stood out to student Maggie Fox, whose family is from Kainai Nation in southern Alberta. Her grandparents and older relatives attended residential school.
“I have relatives that have done that,” Fox said.
She said even though many people who were in residential schools have been able to forgive, it is still important to learn what happened during and after the residential schools were open.
Hansen said education and individual action towards reconciliation will help people move forward.
“We have to take action in order to educate ourselves,” she said. “And actually listen to people of indigenous backgrounds, and listen to what they have to say and empower them.”
Student Soleil Galarneau added, "We need to stop being defensive and really listen to what indigenous communities are saying and what is going on.
"We need to move forward," she said. "Without being defensive, and listen, reflect, learn so that history does not repeat itself. That's why National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is so important, and why these assemblies are so important.”
Fox, Hansen and Galarneau are on the school’s Indigenous Action Committee, where they are planning ways to take part in reconciliation as a community with others in the school.
