By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Cape Breton Post
People sat around tables last Friday at the community centre in Potlotek in quiet conversation punctuated by laughter every now and then. But the work they were doing in front of them was serious.
A room full of people concentrated on beading work to create orange shirt pins which will be worn on Tuesday, Sept. 30 – the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. Its more popular name is Orange Shirt Day. The day honours residential school survivors as well as the history of the First Peoples in our country.
Potlotek First Nation social services case manager Leann Mellen says it’s important to gather people together for workshops that focus on traditional arts of Mi’kmaq communities. And it’s important to prepare for special days such as September 30 because there was a time when practicing their culture and their art forms was outlawed in Canada.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
“With residential schools, a lot of these kinds of skills (like beading) weren’t allowed,” she said.
Mellen said there are generations of Indigenous people who lost their thousands of years old traditions of such skills as beading, drumming and basket-weaving and more.
“I’m doing this here today because it’s important to bring back these skills. It’s also a way people in our community have of surviving through their abilities. It’s a way of encouraging entrepreneurship in the community,” she said. “Some people do this for a living.”
Mellen herself has become an acknowledged expert beader thanks to the teachings of her aunt, Laura Nicholas Battiste, who has a beading shop in the community. She was also teaching and helping at the Orange Shirt Day workshop last week.
IMPORTANT DAY
Potlotek First Nation member Margaret Johnson was making a pin at the workshop and said September 30 is a very important day for her community.
“There were so many recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was an important event in our history in terms of dealing with the effects of residential schools, centralization, government laws and things like that.”
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
“My parents did not go to residential school, but so much of our history was driven underground. When you asked someone about residential schooling, there was always shame attached to it.”
Johnson explains what residential school survivors had to go through after coming home.
“There was a sense of treating people who went to residential school as outcasts because they came back and had learned English and had forgotten their own language.”
Johnson said this disconnect with their communities happened to students after suffering years of abuse – mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Johnson is the widow of Alex (Pi’kun) Poulette, the lead singer of well-known Unama’ki (Cape Breton) singing duo Morning Star. The group ended in 2013 with Poulette’s death.
“My husband was put in residential school at the age of six,” Johnson says. “I never knew he had gone to residential school until their song Forgiveness came out. It’s about my husband’s experience at school in Shubenacadie.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
“That’s how much of a secret it was for him.”
The song, Forgiveness, which details Poulette’s pain due to his schooling, won an East Coast Music Award.
“You know, today could just be crafting for me,” said Johnson, as she stitched a small felt orange shirt that would be turned into a beaded brooch. “But when I think about it, it’s something deeper for me. There’s a whole other level which I attach to this because it’s part of a bigger thing. It’s not only residential school for me. It’s about all of these government policies that were put in place to try and annihilate us.”
Johnson takes a breath.
“Despite that, we’re still here. I’m here. I’m learning about an orange T-shirt.”
‘THEY’RE PRACTICING THEIR TRADE’
She looked around and said she is crafting – but for others, it’s their work.
“They’re practicing their trade. I didn’t grow up with this … but some did. I didn’t grow up with the knowledge of residential schools. I’m just learning about it, too.
“So many of these things were meant to be secret. And now they’re revealed and are revealing themselves. And the implications of each one of these stories is massive. Massive. And the effect of it is national.”
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Johnson notes that today, East Coasters know the story of Phyllis Webstad of British Columbia and her orange shirt that was taken away from her on her first day of Residential School. Her story was the beginning of Orange Shirt Day and the “Every Child Matters” movement.
“We’re honouring that survivor because we have survivors here, too,” says Johnson.
The First Nation communities all across Unama’ki will be holding special events to honour the national holiday on September 30. Information can be found on their Facebook pages.
Rosemary Godin is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter for the Cape Breton Post, a position funded by the federal government.
ONTARIO NOW NEWSLETTER Get our free new weekly newsletter
Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request.
There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again.
Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I’d also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from thespec.com.
You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.
ONTARIO NOW NEWSLETTER You’re signed up! You’ll start getting Ontario Now in your inbox soon.
Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
