Rolling River First Nation Unveils Monument on Former Site of Day School

Observance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at Rolling River First Nation began with unveiling a newly erected monument on the former site of Rolling River Day School, part of the Federated Indian Day Schools of Canada. The monument is the first of its kind on Rolling River Reserve, and several Elders and Band Council members were on hand to talk about its significance and about the importance of truth and reconciliation.

Chief Wilfred McKay was the primary speaker at the monument, first in Anishinaabemowin and then in English. His biggest message was one of education, not just for young people and for non-Indigenous Canadians, but also for himself and others learning from their community’s elders. True histories are critical, said McKay, to moving forward with reconciliation. The true histories of the FIrst Nations peoples need to be told.

McKay spoke about wanting to make progress towards reconciliation immediately, citing land, culture and language as the primary concerns as well as actually implementing the treaties that were made. Of those, language was the one he focused the most on. “Language,” he said, “is very important. It is said you’re not a nation unless you have a land base, a culture, and your own language. I’m very grateful that we still have elders that are fluent in our language.”

However, there are still ongoing issues today that impede the progress of reconciliation. McKay cited children that are still being taken from their families into foster care, and mentioned barriers to economic development for indigenous communities when they are trying to create jobs for their people.

The monument being unveiled was built on the site of the day school that McKay’s own older siblings attended, and he talked about how when he later began school in nearby Erikson he knew very little English as it wasn’t spoken at home,- 0but he quickly learned.

“That’s why we’re here today,” said McKay. “We came to get that recognition to the ones that went to this day school, to our residential school survivors, to the little ones who didn’t come back home. We have a lot to deal with.”

McKay’s speech was followed by brief greetings from Elders and Band Council Members, some of whom were or had family members who were residential school survivors. One man shared memories of the day school that used to stand on the spot where the monument was erected, explaining where all the buildings used to stand and telling stories of his days there. Another noted that because of how many people were sent away to residential schools, Rolling River First Nation still has not wholly come back together as a community, and that is something they are still working through.

The unveiling was followed by an honour song, and kicked off a day of activities at Rolling River First Nation including guest speakers, food, and entertainment. Also shared was information about a planned protest that afternoon at nearby Turtle Crossing Campground where Sioux Valley Dakota Nation had been denied access to search for additional unmarked graves.