A time for truth

By Lethbridge Herald on October 1, 2025.

Herald photo by Alexandra Noad Jami Wells speaks at City Hall yesterday about her experiences living with intergenerational trauma as her mother attended residential schools.

Alexandra Noad
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The grounds outside of City Hall was filled with a sea of orange yesterday as people from all backgrounds gathered to listen to survivors of residential schools.

The event was organized by activist Alica Mistaken Chief, who began hosting these events for the last two years.

The day was a mixture of survivors sharing their stories and attendees asking questions about truth and reconciliation Mistaken Chief says it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

“We haven’t even heard the tip of it, there’s so many survivors with stories.”

She adds the first time she hosted the event, there were no speakers; she just wanted children to make flags to represent those who didn’t make it home. Since then, it has grown as a safe space for survivors and ancestors to share their stories.

Mistaken Chief says in order for reconciliation to happen, people have to view all Indigenous people as human, including those who suffer from homelessness and addiction.

“To start with, reconciliation is to treat us like we are human, learn who we are and learn about are culture.”

She adds that non-Indigenous are more than welcome to attend surrounding Truth and Reconciliation Day and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), though they should do so in consultation with an elder.

To this day, Indigenous people are overrepresented in the foster care system, ails and in addiction, making up only 5 per cent of the population.

The 80th call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s 94 Calls to Action says, “we call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honoursSurvivors, their families and communities and ensure that the public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”

While the federal government named Sept. 30 a statutory holiday, the provincial governments of Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan have not made it a statutory holiday.

These provinces still encourage employees to commemorate the day and encourage their citizens to participate in events close to them.