From the Office of the Mayor – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - September 30, 2024

September 27, 2024

As the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation nears on Monday, September 30, we recognize the ongoing trauma caused by the residential school system and remember the survivors and their families, and those children who never returned home.

Reconciliation doesn’t just happen one day of the year; it is a perpetual process and our community continues to take meaningful steps 365 days of the year toward truth and understanding.

To further this commitment, our Municipality supports opportunities for learning and reflection, including participation in a KAIROS Blanket Exercise this past spring. Over 30 members of staff and Council came together for this incredibly powerful workshop, led by Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper John Henri Commanda and his facilitation team.

It was an emotional and raw experience, which provided people with new insights, changed perspectives and a deeper understanding.  Blanket Exercises have been held a number of times in our community; I encourage all residents to seek out opportunities to participate in a KAIROS Blanket Exercise. The interactive and experiential workshop is an opportunity to experience history from an Indigenous perspective, walking through history from pre-contact to treaty-making, colonization to resistance, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

In June, to recognize National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day, Mississippi Mills All My Relations, partnered with the Municipality for a Summer Solstice Celebration, to learn about the food, dance, music and rituals of Indigenous Peoples on the Summer Solstice, a day of spiritual significance.

Building on those relationships, lower Mill Street in downtown Almonte was the scene of the inaugural Multicultural Potluck on Mill Street in June. It was a truly inspiring evening showcasing our diverse community, featuring Indigenous prayer, smudging and multicultural performances. Our community is fortunate to have organizations like The Mississippi Mills Inclusion Project and Mississippi Mills All My Relations who play important roles in advancing inclusivity and acceptance and restoring relationships.

There are opportunities to continue that work over the next days; as a prequel to September 30’s Reconciliation Through Art, on September 29 at 2 p.m., a special advance film screening of  WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) by acclaimed Cree filmmaker Jules Arita Koostachin, will be shown at Almonte United Church. The next day, experience First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists, their stories and music at Reconciliation Through Art. This event is being chaired by Métis rights advocate Tony Belcourt and unfolds from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. Find out more:  www.reconciliationthroughart.ca.

Later, the Mississippi Mills Youth Centre will host a Truth and Reconciliation Vigil at The Seven Gifts in Riverfront Park. It begins at 7 p.m. and includes Indigenous performances, readings and more. 

Reconciliation is a journey of learning and action. On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, let us all reflect on how we can all work toward reconciliation in our own lives every day of the year.

Sincerely,

Mayor Christa Lowry
Municipality of Mississippi Mills