Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE - Sharing and healing are at the core of the Sacred Heart school reunion.

"We're encouraging people to begin to tell their story," said Joachim Bonnetrouge, the project co-ordinator for the Fort Providence Residential School Society that hosts the event.

Participants at the annual Sacred Heart Reunion included from left, back row: Roy Fabien, Pierre Berrault, Laura Villeneuve, Caroline Bonnetrouge, Billy Villeneuve and Dave Forpes; middle row: Noella McLeod, Florence Gladue, Shirley Jooris-Bertrand, Malvina Bonnetrouge, Eleanor Bran, Susan Kotchea, Freddie Cazon and Joe Punch; front row: Joachim Bonnetrouge and Dolphus Codille. - photo courtesy of the Fort Providence Residential School Society

"People need to share and let go."

Twenty-two people experienced this process during the seventh annual reunion that was held from Aug. 14 to 17 at T'elemie Lodge outside of Fort Providence.

Survivors of the Sacred Heart school and their families are encouraged to attend so they can reconnect with people they knew at the school as children.

"You connected with a lot of people in the mission just for survival sake," said Bonnetrouge.

A lot of time at the reunion was devoted to sharing circles. People tell their own stories and then by listening to the stories of others it jogs their memories, Bonnetrouge said.

Confronting their memories about the things that happened to them at the school allows survivors to begin the healing process, said Bonnetrouge.

"It was a moving, emotional experience at times," he said.

With 22 people this year's reunion was slightly smaller than usual. Many of the participants, however, were attending for the first time and said it was an enjoyable experience, said Bonnetrouge.

This year's participants came from a number of communities including Yellowknife, Trout Lake, Hay River, Kakisa, Fort Simpson, Edmonton and Slave Lake, Alta.

The interest of those who came made up for the lower numbers, said Margaret Leishman, who helped facilitate the reunion along with Bonnetrouge and support counsellors Dolphus Codille and Roy Fabien.

This year's group really wanted to engage in the healing process, she said. The reunion uses traditional Dene ways of healing that encompass the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being of a person.

All four aspects have to be looked after for a person to be healthy, said Leishman.

"It's really good coming together because it brings you back to your identity of the people you come from," she said.

Holding the reunion at T'elemie Lodge away from the community helps with the healing process, said Leishman. Being near the land and listening to the wind and the birds helps put people back in their place, she said.

Bringing the survivors together is also positive because for the weekend they bond as a small community and take care of each other, said Leishman.

"The elders are telling us not to hold onto the past but to look at it really good and then move forward," she said.

In addition to the healing circles and various presentations, the reunion also includes lighthearted events.

This year participants went on a boat ride to the Horn River and enjoyed a night of fiddle music, singing and square dancing.

Leishman, who has now attended all seven of the reunions, said she looks forward to attending every year.

"I feel really good every time I go," said Leishman. "It give me enough energy and focus to continue for another year."