Truth and Reconciliation Week begins in Lethbridge

Monday marked the start of Truth and Reconciliation Week in Lethbridge, honouring Indigenous culture and recognizing injustices.

The City of Lethbridge kicked off Truth and Reconciliation Week on Monday with a ceremony outside city hall.

Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous guests spoke about the importance of the week.

“We want to share. We were impacted, right? And part of that impact, that is adaptation. We allow ourselves to tell our story,” said Julius Delaney, Blackfoot educator.

This year will see expanded programming all over the city.

New this year is a “Give it a Try” sport event on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The city’s first Indigenous music festival will be in Festival Square on Saturday.

“I think when we started Reconciliation Week and our calls to action, there was a lot of unsureness of what to do and how to do it, whereas now, I think that a lot of community agencies and partners and the city as well have really taken initiative to take those steps forward,” said Echo Nowak, City of Lethbridge Indigenous relations specialist.

The University of Lethbridge marked the week with its own event.

Students and staff were able to learn more about Indigenous culture and hear firsthand accounts from residential school survivors.

“Institutions like the University of Lethbridge are saying, ‘Hey, it’s our responsibility to educate people about social issues and so on, so therefore, we’re going to take up the challenge,’” said Leroy Little Bear, U of L vice-provost of Iniskim Indigenous relations.

Organizers believe events like these will help people to remember and spark meaningful conversations.

“They hear the stories, they hear it on the news and so on, and so, they come back and they start asking the older generation, like residential school survivors, ‘What’s this all about?’” said Little Bear.