More than 900 people came out to the former Brandon Residential School property on Wednesday as Premier Wab Kinew announced the purchase of Turtle Crossing Campground — the site of a cemetery for students who attended the school.
Explaining the decision to purchase the campground in partnership with the City of Brandon, Kinew said it was an opportunity to cement a piece of history.
“The story of this land down the hill here is a story about how memory can be lost,” he told the crowd. “We have to preserve this memory so it can never be denied.”
The campground property was purchased for $1.55 million, with the City of Brandon paying $400,000 and the province covering the balance.
Sioux Valley Dakota Nation elder Frank Tacan, who attended the announcement, described the news as a boon to truth and reconciliation.
“We are so happy we got that land back, to use it for ceremonies now. I think it’s going to be a good thing,” Tacan said. “It was about time.”
Tacan said that Sioux Valley had difficulty accessing the site while it was formerly a privately owned campground.
The official announcement of the purchase came in the afternoon following Brandon’s Orange Shirt Day Walk from the Riverbank Discovery Centre to the site of the former residential school.
A lunch was provided at the site, and Sioux Valley Dakota Nation unveiled a monument to honour victims of residential schools.
The black granite monument depicts an eagle soaring above a star-filled sky, two children holding hands and a river valley before them designed to resemble the landscape beneath the BIRS site.
It is engraved with the names of dozens of First Nation communities from Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut, and states that the monument “stands in memory of children who never returned home,” as well as survivors, families and nations impacted by residential schools.
The monument was flanked by eight temporary boards containing about 2,700 names of people who are reported to have been affected by residential schools. Eight additional black granite surfaces are planned to be installed at the site, replacing the boards in the future.
Gerald Bell, a Sioux Valley elder, said the monument turned out “fantastic.” He added that he was pleased with the number of community members that came out to witness the unveiling and Kinew’s announcement on Wednesday.
“What I liked seeing was all the young people coming,” Bell said. “It’s the youth that are going to have to be educated and taught about this.”
Bell said the younger generations will be important to continue education about the history of residential schools.
“We need a bigger presence in our educational system. It’s kind of a subject that people shy away from, but it’s part of the history.”
Beverley Lee, a Birtle-area resident, said the Truth and Reconciliation Day events at the BIRS were uplifting. It was her first year in attendance, she said.
“It’s very amazing to see all the people come together, because to me they are starting to acknowledge who we were,” she said. “And we are starting to find our voices and our identity.”
Brandon resident Renee Maillet said she came to honour survivors — and to contribute to the rebounding culture of Indigenous people.
“It’s so meaningful to be here,” she said. “Just connecting and acknowledging the wrongdoings that have been done. And just rebuilding the language and the culture.”
Tacan said he believed the turnout at the school site grew compared to last year — and that is a positive sign.
“It gets your heart going in a good way,” Tacan said. “We need lots of support and this is what we had today. People are coming together.”
“People are listening. They are listening to the survivors.”
Tacan said the new monument at the site will help with education.
During his speech, Kinew pointed to how utilities had been installed at the former campground, as well as a swimming pool, in the vicinity of the burial ground.
“This is what happens when memories are not preserved,” he said.
According to a count done at the BIRS site, more than 600 people participated in the Orange Shirt Day Walk to the site.
Earlier in the day, Kinew sat with First Nations leaders and elders in a teepee erected at the Turtle Crossing Campground to mark the handover.
Sioux Valley elder Oswald McKay prayed at the ceremony and said it’s important to find out what happened at the site to find some closure.
He said he prayed for all those still suffering the effects of residential schools.
“My prayers are for healing,” he said.
“We suffer by it. Intergenerational suffering is still going on. You still see it in the communities. You still see the young people, in the cities, you know, and that is the direct result of taking language and culture away.”
The Sioux Valley Dakota Nation says more than 50 children are buried at the site.
