Stratford’s Falstaff Family Center to host six days of Truth and Reconciliation

The Falstaff Family Center in Stratford is hosting six days of activities and events next week in support of Truth and Reconciliation Week and Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Set for Sept. 25 to Sept. 30, the week of events is aimed at fostering learning, awareness and inclusivity while attempting to commemorate the history and horrific legacy of residential schools, one of the 94 Calls to Action identified in the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions postponement.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be hosting these events at the Falstaff Family Center in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation Week,” center owner Loreena McKennitt said in an email. “We’re all learning together and that journey is just beginning. So we’re inviting the community to come learn and reflect and to join us in the spirit of the week.”

The week will officially launch at 1 pm on Sept. 25 with a short opening address by Patsy Anne Day, a member of the Turtle Clan and an Oneida First Nation elder.

Throughout the week, the center will be hosting the Legacy of Hope Foundation’s exhibition, Peter Henderson Bryce: A Man of Conscience, which will be open daily Sept. 25 to Sept. 30 from 1 pm to 9 pm Bryce was a medical officer of health for Ontario and the federal government in the early 1900s and is considered a whistle blower for bringing attention to the large numbers of Indigenous children dying in residential schools. The exhibit is suitable for all ages and admission is by donation, with proceeds going to the Indigenous-led foundation.

There will also be a pop-up retail shop on site all week featuring T-shirts by Winona Sands of Howling Moon Aboriginal Arts and a member of Walpole Island First Nation, as well as artwork by knowledge keeper Christin Dennis, a member of the Aamjiwnaag First Nation who also goes by Gzhiiquot or Fast Moving Cloud.

From Monday through Friday, the Falstaff center will also host five virtual lunch-and-learn sessions. Presented by the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, the sessions will be streamed from Winnipeg from 1:30 pm to 2:50 pm Geared to adults, each session discusses a different topic – from debunking stereotypes to ongoing systemic discrimination and taking action towards reconciliation . Participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch, and admission is by cash donation with proceeds going to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation.

On weekend evenings next week, beginning at 7 pm, the Falstaff center will screen five documentaries from the National Film Board of Canada, each of which examines a different aspect of Indigenous experience from the missing and murdered Indigenous women to first-hand stories of life in the residential school system and the reunification of four siblings separated during the Sixties Scoop.

Following the film about the Sixties Scoop on Sept. 27, Dennis, a Sixties Scoop survivor, will tell his own story from 8:30 pm to 9 pm in the community room. Admission to all films is by cash donation, with proceeds going to the Legacy of Hope Foundation.

The week will end with a series of family-friendly events on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Running from 1:45 pm to 4 pm, the activities include performances by grass dancer Scott Norton, a member of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and drummer and singer Scott Stevens, a member of the Saugeen First Nation.

The afternoon will conclude with teachings from Dennis, including an explanation of the importance of Ojibwe Spirit Horses and a visit with several horses from Aspens Sanctuary. Cash donations toward the sanctuary will be welcomed during the event. A sacred fire will be lit and kept going throughout the afternoon next to the Medicine Wheel garden, and the teepee erected earlier this summer will be open to the public.

For more information on events and activities being held at the Falstaff Family Center next week, visit www.falstafffamilycentre.com/truthandreconciliation.

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