TIMMINS - A local hockey team is continuing its tradition of raising awareness about residential schools and honouring survivors.
Today is the Timmins Majors' third annual Truth and Reconciliation Night. A pre-game ceremony will honour residential school survivors' resiliency and commemorate children who never made it home. It's aimed at promoting healing, reconciliation and hope.
The Majors are taking on the Kapuskasing Flyers for the game at McIntyre Arena at 7:30 p.m. Donations are being collected at the door for the Mushkegowuk Fire Keepers outreach program.
Doug Cheechoo is helping co-ordinate the event sponsored by the Mushkegowuk Council Youth Department.
“My mom is a residential school survivor, but I never got to meet my uncle George, who never made it home after attending a residential school in Québec,” said Cheechoo.
“When my grandparents went to meet the plane expecting my uncle George to come back from residential school, he never got off the plane. He had passed away at the residential school six months prior.”
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Mushkegowuk Council Deputy Grand Chief Natasha Martin is the master of ceremonies for tonight's ceremony and elder Madeline Kioke is leading the opening prayer. The honour song will feature the Electric Pow Wow Drum by a Tribe Called Red, traditional men's dancer George Ross, shawl dancer Ceebee Matthews and traditional youth grass dancer Asher Dunbar. Mattagami First Nation Chief Jennifer Constant is the guest speaker.
Both teams will wear special orange jerseys during their pre-game warm-up, provided by the Orange Jersey Project.
Nine First Nation youth are playing in the game, Nadeen Carey, director of the Mushkegowuk Youth Department.
“It’s just a great chance for us to bring cultural awareness to the hockey clubs while they have Indigenous players playing on both teams. And I'm sure some of them probably have residential school survivors in their families too,” she said.
Hockey fans are encouraged to contribute to the Fire Keepers outreach program by donating mitts, socks, toques and underwear.
Since its inception in 2020, the program has supported people experiencing homelessness, substance abuse and mental health challenges in Timmins.
Cheechoo emphasized that events like this are essential for educating the public about the Indigenous experience and the trauma inflicted by residential schools.
“We're all affected by the residential school system and what it did to First Nation children,” he said.
“It's important for us as First Nation people to just educate the public in regards to the Indigenous experience at residential schools, but also to promote healing and reconciliation and also hope because we're still here and we're all survivors, and that's a testament to our resiliency.”
