The community of Prince Rupert showed up en masse on Tuesday, Sept. 30, for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
On Sept. 29, the Friendship House of Prince Rupert hosted a community event at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre. At the event, there was a performance of traditional Nisga’a songs and dances. Events like the ones in Prince Rupert allow residential school survivors to share their stories and promote their culture, said Nisga’a chief Ron Nyce (Simoogit Naaws)
“I went to residential school for five years in Edmonton, Alberta. So, like all the rest of our brothers and sisters clean across Canada, I endured all the different abuses. Truth and Reconciliation means a lot to all First Nations people. The public did not know how much cruelty we endured in our lives. With this Truth and Reconciliation, we can show the public what happened to us while also showing them that we didn’t lose our language or our culture, which is one of the plans that the government had for First Nations people.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 30, the Nisga’a Hall hosted a community gathering. The message expressed by the Nisga’a people was equality. Several First Nations leaders got the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Metlakatla, Lax Kw’alaams, Kitkatla and Nisga’a Nations. The event was open to anyone who wanted to learn about Indigenous culture.
For Nyce, reconciliation means forgiveness and equality.
“We as First Nations people are very forgiving. We forgive those abusers for what they did to us. That’s why going forward, everyone needs to know that I’m not above you and you’re not above me,” said Nyce.
