London, Ont. honours National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

Londoners gathered on The Green at Wortley Village to share their respects for those affected by Canada’s residential school system.

In marking the second annual National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Londoners gathered on The Green at Wortley Village to share their respects for those affected by Canada’s residential school system.

Atlosa Family Healing Centre, along with Oneida Nation of the Thames, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre, and the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, invited those across the city of London to honour past and present relatives.

J. Todd Cornelius, chief of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, thanked all those who attended Friday’s event.

“While today is an important day of truth and reconciliation, it is only one day of 365 in remembering the children who were taken from us,” he said.

“The journey has been long, traumatic and intergenerational for many, but there is much to be done in achieving reconciliation, and the strength of our ancestors to our loved ones is needed more than ever.”

Surrounded by some residential school survivors, jingle dress dancers performed in front of a gathering crowd of orange shirts. The dance represents healing, pride, as well as a spiritual form of wellness and celebration in linking the past to present in helping to “move forward with strength and hope.”

Organizers of the gathering said that the dresses, also known as Prayer Dresses, are lined with rows of metal cones, creating a melody as the dancers move to “mimic the sound of falling rain.”