DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE - Although it has been decades since they've been in residential schools the facilitators of the Sacred Heart Reunion say there is more healing to be done now than ever.

The Prime Minister's apology last year about residential schools opened a lot of people to the possibility of healing, said Margaret Leishman, a residential school survivor from Kakisa.

Caroline Bonnetrouge, left, and Albert Bonnetrouge were two of the survivors who attended the annual Sacred Heart Reunion held at T'elemie Lodge. - photo courtesy of the Fort Providence Residential School Society

More people are now working through the healing process, she said. Twenty-five people who are on that journey gathered for the eighth annual Sacred Heart Reunion from Aug. 13 to 16.

The Fort Providence Residential School Society organizes the reunion for former students of the Sacred Heart Mission School. This year the reunion was held at T'elemie Lodge on the Mackenzie River outside of Fort Providence.

Former students from Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, Kakisa and Fort Providence attended the reunion. Six of the survivors were there for the first time.

"That's a big number for us," said Leishman who facilitated the gathering together with Joachim Bonnetrouge.

Every year the society tries to bring more people to the reunion. Next year they plan to invite the children and grandchildren of survivors. They need to be aware of the residential school legacy in the North, said Leishman.

"It's nice for them to come and sit in the circle and listen to the survivors talk," she said.

The gathering is based on a traditional way of healing that includes sitting in the sharing circle and talking.

"Everybody has a different story and at the end of the day when you put it together it all makes sense," said Leishman.

This year there was more time spent in the sharing circle than normal. In other years part of the gathering has been spent on presentations and spreading information about different developments related to residential schools, said Bonnetrouge, the co-facilitator.

This year the sharing circle concept was the main focus and it gave people lots of time and opportunity to say what they wanted, Bonnetrouge said. To help more people open up Bonnetrouge asked some questions including what it was like for them to be in a mission, hostel or residence.

"That prompted a lot of reaction," he said.

The reunion is important, said Jim Thom, a member of the board for the Fort Providence Residential School Society.

By gathering together survivors can make each other feel at ease so they can talk about what happened at residential school, said Thom who attended this year's reunion. Being at T'elemie helps with the process because the participants can "harmonize with nature," he said.

Sharing in Dene is also important because the stories and feelings come out better, said Thom.

Thom shared stories about some of the experiences he had during his approximately six years at the Sacred Heart Mission School in the 1950s.

"I felt really good about it," said Thom about the sharing process.