Multifaith motorcycle convoy rides to Brandon residential school to honour survivors, victims
'We need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Indigenous people': Jaspreet Singh
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
A multicultural motorcycle convoy made the trip from Winnipeg to the site of the former residential school in Brandon on Sunday in a gesture of solidarity with Indigenous people.
The riders in the convoy of roughly 50 people were of different faiths — Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians — who gathered in memory of children who died while being forced to attend the schools.
"When something like this happens in our country, we need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Indigenous people and to let them know that at this hard time, we are with them," said Jaspreet Singh, a member of Royal Riders Winnipeg, the local motorcycle association that organized the ride.
The event comes after the preliminary discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and as calls grow for similar searches at other sites across Canada.
Singh says in the Sikh religion, schools are considered sacred — and teachers "above God" — so people in his community were troubled when they learned about the abuse children suffered while being forced to attend residential schools.
"Their lives were taken away.… It's really shameful," he said.
"By doing this ride, we might not make a big difference, but we are only trying to let the Indigenous people know that we know about this situation now, we are standing with them, and if there's anything we can do [in] the least, it's to ride there, pay our respects."
The convoy gathered in Winnipeg at Dhillon Automotive Group on Pembina Highway, Bava Dhillon's family business.
Dhillon, who is Sikh and a member of Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, says many of the motorcycle group's members are newcomers to Canada, and the ride is a way to teach them more about residential schools and the effect they had Indigenous people.
"As new immigrants come into the country, we don't really know the truth, and now the truth is coming out," said Dhillon, whose mother is a residential school survivor.
He says the group wanted to ride to the Brandon residential school site to honour those whose graves have been recently identified nearby.
"It's sad to say that it's happened so close to our home," Dhillon said.
Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Jennifer Bone says 104 potential graves have been located there, and only 78 of them are accountable through historical records.
Elder Raymond Mason from Peguis First Nation says he was honoured to participate in the convoy to Brandon in his car.
Mason, who was involved in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the Federal Indian Day School class action, says the recent preliminary findings of unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School and Marieval Indian Residential School were humbling.
"I thought we were well on our way to reconciliation. Now — [with] this revelation that erupted — what do we, and how do we, heal from this? How do we move on?" said Mason, a survivor of residential schools in Birtle, Portage la Prairie and Dauphin.
"Back in those days, they called us savages and pagans," he said. "Look who are the savages now. You can't get any more savage than what they've done to us: killed us as children and buried us in unmarked graves. How [much] more savage can that be? And it just hurts me, because I could have been one of them."
Mason says the recent discoveries of unmarked graves also show how much more work remains to be done.
"My job's not done yet. My journey's not done yet," he said.
He says that includes getting justice for survivors of residential schools that weren't included in federal compensation agreements because they weren't run by the federal government, and finding once and for all how many unmarked graves still sit at sites across the country.
Attitudes about Indigenous people also still need to change — and trust needs to be rebuilt, he says.
"Can we trust the government? It's very hard to be able to give that trust back. Because, man oh man, this is awful. The whole world is watching us. The whole world is watching Canada. And Canada should be ashamed of themselves," he said.
"They go around the world saying, 'Oh, Canada's the most beautiful place'… But they should look in their backyard before they go preaching and talking like that in other countries."
Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by these reports.
A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school survivors and others affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
With files from Erin Brohman