On the day before Canada pauses for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Niagara-on-the-Lake gathered this morning with a flag lowering, healing songs and a reflective walk.
Dozens of people, including residents, staff and local leaders met outside the town administration building on Four Mile Creek Road to confront the legacy of residential schools, honour survivors and call for continued action on reconciliation.
In an interview with The Lake Report, Cara-anne Farrow-lawrence, a performer from the Strong Water Singers, said this national day isn’t just about the “truth” part of its namesake, but the efforts at reconciliation, as well.
“That means that we reconcile, we come together, right? And heal together. It’s not just about one person or the other, because we’re all connected,” she said.
The Strong Water Singers is an Indigenous women’s drumming collective from across the Niagara region. It led the ceremony with songs of healing before participants joined a silent walk of reflection around the Virgil Sports Park track.
The flag was lowered to half-mast, where it will remain until Oct. 1. Town facilities will close on Tuesday to mark the national day.
“I’m grateful to many people in this community — to surround yourself with people that want to see you heal and walk in that good path,” said Farrow-lawrence, who was joined by fellow singer Sandi Mansfield.
The two performed “The Longest Walk,” a men’s honour song, followed by the “Strong Women’s Song” — “a way of saying we’re here, because there’s so many women that were incarcerated for terrible reasons that they shouldn’t have been,” said Mansfield.
The performance ended with a Mi’kmaq healing song “to offer healing — because that’s what truth and reconciliation is about,” she said.
Farrow-lawrence said those songs were selected in order to share them with the community NOTL and to “give that back to ourselves.”
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa told The Lake Report it was “the best turnout I’ve ever seen at a flag raising.”
“And I’m really excited about that,” he said.
Encouraging residents to spend Tuesday learning more about Indigenous history, Zalepa recommended the book “A Mohawk Memoir from the War of 1812: John Norton – Teyoninhokarawen,” available at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum.
“It’s one of the only written accounts of the War of 1812 activities from the lens of an Indigenous author,” he said.
“It’s excellent.”
Zalepa is always considering how to take action to help Indigenous communities “in a way that’s responsible and accepted by the Indigenous community,” he said, “because sometimes, I find myself awkward in understanding what to say.”
“But when we meet with our Indigenous partners, they give some help on that” — something Zalepa said is “really important” about the ceremony.
Tony Baldinelli, MP for Niagara Falls–Niagara-on-the-Lake, read a statement from the House of Commons and urged attendees to “remember the children who never came home, honour those survivors who carry those stories and work towards a future where justice, respect and dignity are the foundation of true reconciliation.”
“Let us say today and every day, never again,” added Baldinelli, noting it has been a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report and its 94 calls to action.
The commission published an executive summary of its findings in December 2015, after seven years of work documenting the history and impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system on Indigenous students and their families.
“Number 80 was the establishment of a specific day to honour those children,” he said.
But Shannon Mitchell, speaking on behalf of MPP Wayne Gates, said reconciliation has stalled.
“(The) commission issued 94 calls to action — yet more than eight years later, the majority remain unfulfilled,” she said. “Not been actioned, or are stuck in reports and in committees.”
Calling that “a critical failure of all levels of government,” Mitchell said reconciliation is about more than words.
“It demands action, accountability and ongoing commitments of all levels of government — including my own and those represented here today,” she said.
“We’re deeply grateful for the strength and leadership of Indigenous organizations,” added Mitchell, acknowledging the Niagara Regional Native Centre, the Niagara Chapter of Native Women and De dwa da dehs nye.
Fire Chief Jay Plato said the day is about “listening, learning and understanding the experiences of Indigenous communities and appreciating their cultures and recognizing their strength.”
He encouraged attendees to learn more about NOTL’s Indigenous history, pointing to the Landscape of Nations memorial in Queenston as an interactive place to start.
“There is power in our collective commitment,” said Plato. “Thank you council, staff and the Strong Water Singers, to everyone here today.”
Zalepa said the town has begun building a stronger relationship with the Niagara Regional Native Centre, meeting with the organization on things like the official plan review, transportation master plan and transit discussions.
“That will evolve,” said Zalepa, who opened the ceremony with a land acknowledgement and thanked all in attendance.
Farrow-lawrence encourages people to take part in local events tomorrow, if they can.
“If you can’t find something, just throw on your orange shirt,” she said, and “just walk in a good way.”
“That support, alone, is powerful,” said Farrow-lawrence.
The collective, founded 10 years ago, has grown to include Strong Water Juniors — teaching girls to be safe, strong and future leaders.
In the month leading up to the day, “we’ve been doing a lot of different drumming for our missing and murdered Indigenous people,” Farrow-lawrence said.
“Coming together, bringing connectedness and healing.”
Farrow-lawrence said her drum, a gift from her brother, carries gifted great horned owl feathers and beads matching those on her medicine bag and the grandmother drum at the Wish House.
“There’s a very powerful, but long, story behind that,” she said.
The town has embedded reconciliation goals in its strategic plan and gave staff the day off Sept. 30 to reflect and learn, Zalepa said.
The town administration building and operations building, the NOTL Community Centre and the NOTL Public Library will be closed tomorrow.
The federal government established the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021 to honour residential school survivors, their families and communities. Town council voted that August to recognize the day through education and commemoration.
