By Times Chronicle Staff
On Thursday and Friday Indigenous and non-Indigenous people from Oliver and Osoyoos will come together to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.
On the morning of Sept. 29, students from Oliver schools will march through town wearing orange shirts to pay tribute to victims and survivors of residential schools.
Students from Tuc-el-Nuit, OES, and SOSS will later join a special gathering at the Osoyoos Indian Band office (under the Hat) at 11 a.m.
After an opening prayer, and the Okanagan Song, Tyler Sky from SOSS will present on the subject of truth and reconciliation in the classroom. This will be followed by a roll call involving the high school and both elementary schools. These students will be presenting residential school survivors and family members of deceased with crafts of orange shirts that were made at their schools.
An open mike for survivors will be available at 11:40 a.m. Once survivors are finished speaking, lunch prepared by the SOSS Grade 9 foods class will be served to the families.
In Osoyoos, the elementary school is placing hearts on the front lawn and Osoyoos Secondary School is planning an event at 11am for all students.
Staff at the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre in Osoyoos are planning to screen the film called Survivors of the Red Brick School this week. The film was produced by Osoyoos Indian Band and the web release pays tribute to producer Virg Baptiste (1950-2004) who was a tireless advocate for Indian Residential School survivors. The centre will close on Friday to recognize Truth and Reconciliation Day and allow everyone to gather in Oliver.
Starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, the Osoyoos Indian Band invites people to the Hat to honour residential school survivors and those who didn’t make it home.
At 11 a.m. a contingent will march to the Oliver Arena for opening ceremonies and a candlelight vigil. This will be followed by a “Warriors of Truth” hockey tournament at noon. Jenna Bower from NK’MIP Desert Cultural Centre pointed out that elders were unable to participate in hockey and it brings them great joy to see their children and grandchildren play.
Chief Clarence Louie said the rink is built on land that was set aside as part of the Osoyoos Indian Band reserve. Ever since the rink opened, members of the OIB have been playing hockey there.
Louie said Indigenous youth first got involved in minor hockey in the 1970s, which was a great way to build long-lasting relationships among races.
“Hockey helps reduce racism and builds relationships between the Rez and town people,” Louie said. “My hockey experience playing with and competing against white people brought our communities closer together and created real friendships and respect.”
The chief said the game of hockey played a huge role for Native and non-Native players and their parents because it simply broke down those barriers.
At 2 p.m. a special ceremony will take place at the Oliver Town Hall where officials will raise the Osoyoos Indian Band flag. A new dedicated flag pole was installed this summer, and the flag was given as a gift from the OIB.
Osoyoos Indian Band poster invites all to the events planned for September 30.
