Later this week, Fort Langley National Historic Site will be honouring children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as the survivors, their families, and their communities.
The fort will be open free to the public on Saturday, Sept. 28, for a Truth and Reconciliation Day, starting at 10 a.m., noted the fort's promotions officer Lin Zou.
The day will begin with a presentation from Len Pierre – an Indigenous leadership, innovation, and transformation consultant – from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
“He's from a local Indigenous, consulting group who has dealt with Indigenous and reconciliation issues throughout North America. He is going to give a special presentation on how to take reconciliation action. Pierre will give a speech and then follow up with a question-and-answer session, lasting about an hour,” she explained.
The community can take part in creating an Orange Shirt Day button and explore the Metis Nation exhibit in the big house, while watching Indigenous videos presented by Stalew Arts and Cultural Society in the theatre.
The day will also feature a variety of Indigenous learning and cultural activities.
Zou weighed in on the significance of this event.
“At Fort Langley National Historic Site, Parks Canada and Indigenous peoples work together to develop interpretive materials and activities, with the goal of fostering a better understanding of Indigenous peoples’ histories, cultures, perspectives, and contributions,” she said.
The session will be followed up with an exploration of an exhibit and creation of an Orange Shirt Day button.
“There will be an exploration of the Métis Nation B.C. exhibit and we are going to have a selection of children's and adult books that talk about colonialism, colonization and residential schools. We're going to display some sections of books for children and also adults. Afterwards, we'll have an activity where children and even adults make Orange Shirt Day buttons to show how they can help with the reconciliation and move forward,” she added.
Admission is free. The Fort Langley National Historic Site is located at at 23433 Mavis Ave. To learn more about this event, and others in the park, people can visit the fort's website.
