Several thousand people in Saskatoon joined together Wednesday morning for a walk for reconciliation.
Over the past month the Reconciliation Saskatoon Committee has organized and planned several events devoted to reconciliation in the community.
Organizers say the purpose of these events was to encourage everyone to find their own personal calls to action for reconciliation.
The series of events ended with the Day of Reconciliation in the city on Wednesday just one day after National Aboriginal Day.
According to organizers the “Rock your Roots” reconciliation walk at Victoria Park was a way to bring all cultures in the city together in order to build understanding.
“When you walk with your brothers and sisters from different communities it builds understanding,” said Gilles Dorval, Director of Aboriginal relations with the City of Saskatoon and co-Chair of the Saskatoon Reconciliation Committee. “Out hope is that people will make a personal call to action as well as to reach out and support their Aboriginal neighbours when moving forward.”
The line up of people participating in the walk stretched for several city blocks.
The walk featured residential school survivors, dignitaries, citizens and hundreds of school children.
The diversity of the city was on display as many people showcased their culture from traditional First Nation and Metis garments to representatives from Ukraine, Asia and Somalia.
Representatives from the Reconciliation Saskatoon Committee hope everyone who came to the walk will find their own personal calls to reconciliation and take what they learned into their families and workplace.
Dorval says throughout the organization process he was able to find his own calls to action as well.
“My personal call to action is to pull people together and do my own personal healing,” said Dorval.
Moving forward Dorval says they will now evaluate the series of reconciliation events and the Day of Reconciliation to determine what their next steps will be..
In addition to the walk the Day of Reconciliation will include a community BBQ, learning activities, exhibits, arts and crafts and entertainment.