Unity Ride across southwestern Manitoba honours Every Child Matters

First Nations from southwestern Manitoba are riding united on a six-day journey honouring Every Child Matters for Truth and Reconciliation week.

The Every Child Matters Unity Ride began Sunday in Waywayseecappo First Nation before travelling to Canupawakpa Dakota Nation, Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, and Sioux Valley Dakota Nation with stops at the Birtle Residential School Monday, Elkhorn Residential School Tuesday and ending at the Brandon Residential School Friday.

The ride is organized by volunteers who believe in Every Child Matters and that the time for healing is now, said Sioux Valley Unity Rider's organizer Travis Mazawasicuna.

"This is all from the heart and we're doing this because we care about the past, we care about today and we care about the future."

Trauma of residential schools spans generations

Canupawakpa Dakota Nation member Reginald Bell was forced to attend Birtle Residential School for two years at the age of 10. His parents and grandparents were also taken to schools in Portage la Prairie, Elkhorn and Lebret, Sask.

"I know like what the people went through, you know, at the time there and just like I remember all ... the kids that never made it home," Bell said. "It was bad, harsh … but I was lucky my age that, you know, like our parents, grandparents suffered away more than what we went through in our generation."

Bell experienced abuse while at Birtle including corporal punishment such as whipping. One of his most mortifying experiences was having his head shaved in front of a group of people.

It is still tough to share these stories, but Bell is glad Canadians are waking up to the horrors Indigenous people faced at residential schools. There is a need to understand these hardships and traumas because it requires generations of healing.

"It's not good for children to go through what we went through," Bell said. "We had to struggle in life."

Indigenous and non-Indigenous people need to work together to help heal the nation, Bell said. Leaders and politicians need understand that change is possible so life can be made better for the next generation of Indigenous people in Canada.

Bell recently joined Canupawakpa's Jordan's Principle as a land-based cultural worker in the community organizing programs and working with families to strengthen Dakota culture.

"I like helping people in their lives because that's what I'm supposed to do help people … with their heart, mind and souls," Bell said. "I'm trying to help them through, you know, hard times." 

Creating a better future

Mazawasicuna still sees the intergenerational trauma created by residential schools in his family and community. 

His dad is a residential school survivor and struggled with alcoholism his entire life. Mazawasicuna never heard "I love you" from his dad and questioned why they had such a distant relationship.

"I had to better myself. I had to find out ... I dug deep in my inner soul, and I approached him and I told him how I felt," Mazawasicuna said. "He didn't say nothing. He had his back against when I was talking to him and … I got more angry and I came around … I looked at his face and tears are running down his eye."

His father began to share stories of his residential school experiences and "all the abuses a child shouldn't go through."

When he looks at his relatives and their pain from residential schools, the Sixties Scoop and other colonial traumas, he sees the damage still present today. These traumas have created mental health and addiction issues in Indigenous communities.

There are still challenges on the healing journey in Canada, he added, as the Unity Riders were denied entrance to the Birtle Residential School and were not allowed to bring media when visiting the Elkhorn Residential School.

He says education is the only way to break the cycle of racism.

"People that live in this country are thriving, they like the freedom … but to me, we're not free yet," Mazawasicuna said. 

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation member Cheyanne Myran Noel, 19, has been with the Unity Riders since she was 12.

It is a powerful feeling being part of this healing process, she said, and she hopes Canada will continue to acknowledge all the children affected by the traumatic legacy of residential schools.

"It feels good knowing that we're bringing them home, having your spirits with us," Myran Noel said. "It's sad, yeah ... the ones who never made it home, but now they're actually coming home."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-721-0066.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. Access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.