{"id":915528,"date":"2026-09-30T16:46:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/915528\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T16:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:46:19","slug":"understanding-is-the-biggest-thing-attendee-says-at-winnipeg-reconciliation-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/915528\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Understanding is the biggest thing,’ attendee says at Winnipeg reconciliation event"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Crowds of people wearing orange gathered at The Forks in Winnipeg on Wednesday morning for an event to honour residential school survivors and the children who never made it home on Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.<\/p>\n

For people like Della Gregory, the national holiday \u2014 also known as Orange Shirt Day<\/a> \u2014 is an emotional one.<\/p>\n

Gregory said she attended the event to honour children who died in the schools and friends and family who are survivors. While some survivors have been able to use their experiences to help others, she said, some still struggle with the trauma of what they endured.<\/p>\n

\"ATorri Hirsch McKay, holding a sign that says ‘You tried to erase us, but we’re still here,’ was one of many people gathered in orange shirts at an event at The Forks for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Wednesday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“It’s so important, because people have just swept it under the rug for years,” Gregory said. “They don’t want to talk about it because they feel ashamed, and they shouldn’t feel ashamed. It wasn’t them who did anything wrong. It was the government [that] took them away from their homes.”<\/p>\n

Gregory said she hopes hearing stories of what happened in Canada’s residential schools will help educate people who don’t know the history like she does.<\/p>\n

\"PeopleCrowds of people wearing orange gathered at Oodena Celebration Circle at The Forks in Winnipeg on Wednesday for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“I hope that they learn and they realize, have empathy. Understanding is the biggest thing \u2014 that, you know, this is real. It really did happen. Children were taken from their homes, and they had no choice,” she said.<\/p>\n

The national holiday, now in its sixth year, falls annually on Sept. 30 amid ongoing reconciliation commitments stemming from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report’s 94 calls to action<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"APeople of all ages gathered in orange shirts at The Forks on Wednesday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Sheila Ouellette, who said some of her family members were also forced to attend residential schools, echoed Gregory’s feeling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“For my family, we never really talked about it,” Ouellette said. “It was just the way of life, you know \u2014 kids went away to school, and nobody really talked about what happened.”<\/p>\n

\"PeopleWednesday’s event for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was held to honour those forced to attend residential schools. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Now, she said it’s important to bring more awareness about the effects residential schools are still having on families today.<\/p>\n

“A lot of families have suffered, and families are still suffering because the cycle just keeps going,” Ouellette said. “So we’re just trying to stop that cycle.”<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople wearing orange stand in from of a large flag reading ‘Every Child Matters.’ (Prabhjot Singh Lotey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said the national holiday is an important time to remember what happened in the past, but also a time to think about the future.<\/p>\n

“It’s about us coming together as a community to dedicate ourselves to the journey of reconciliation and to building a better future,” Gillingham said.<\/p>\n

\"PeopleWednesday’s event at The Forks began at the Oodena Celebration Circle. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“A better future for Winnipeg, for Manitoba, for Canada. A future where everybody has opportunity. A future where we are honouring one another, respecting one another and building a partnership that will make sure our city, our future is stronger for every family.”<\/p>\n

Wednesday’s event at The Forks began with an opening ceremony at Oodena Celebration Circle, and was scheduled to be followed by a walk to Canada Life Centre and a powwow later in the day.<\/p>\n

WATCH | National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2026 | CBC News Special:\"\"<\/p>\n

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2026 | CBC News Special<\/p>\n

Canada marks its sixth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (also known as Orange Shirt Day). CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault is hosting special live coverage to honour residential school survivors and pay tribute to the children who never made it home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":915529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-915528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}