Canadian flags across the country have been at half mast for five months in recognition of the thousands of children who died in Canadian residential schools.
The lowered flags have become a new normal as Canada grapples with its horrible and sometimes deadly treatment of indigenous children in a system destined for assimilation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to keep the flags lowered as a sign of repentance and solemnity until the time comes when the First Nations indicate that it is appropriate for them to raise them again.
Now, as Remembrance Day approaches, calls are on the rise from conservative politicians and veteran groups to raise the flags again, even temporarily, so that the military who served under the national symbol can see it lowered in recognition of their sacrifices. .
The result is that as different groups ascribe different meanings to the Maple Leaf flag, some see it as a sign of a grieving nation and others as a symbol of the proud nation that veterans fought for, the flag itself. itself is highlighting the contradictions in Canada.
Can you celebrate Canada for its achievements and be humiliated for its worst failures at the same time? Of those caught in the middle of such questions are Indigenous veterans and their families, people who fought for Canada under the flag, who also endure generational trauma associated with residential schools.
Wanbdi Wakita, Dakota spiritual leader and head of Sundance, said there is no contradiction in honoring both school-age children and veterans. Wakita, who grew up in the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation in southwestern Manitoba, is a survivor of a residential school and a veteran, serving in Canadian peacekeeping missions.
“Words like trust and respect, we need to practice those words. That way we won’t get caught up in silly things like this, ”he said. “Of course we are going to honor veterans. Of course we are going to honor the children. “
He will participate in National Aboriginal Veterans Day and lay a wreath for veterans on November 11 for the Manitoba provincial ceremony. He said his community will raise and lower veterans flags, something he sees as a sign of respect. But to go with those signs of respect, Wakita would like to see its communities truly cared for, for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians to take up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to live with “heart, mind, body and spirit. ”. ” in that order.
“All the things that need to be done in terms of remembrance, we were told it’s part of remembering veterans,” he said. “But when we return from war and peacekeeping, treat us well.”
The same goes for symbols honoring children in residential schools, he said.
“Someone had these children, they killed them, they hid them. Now they ask me if it’s okay to raise the flag or lower it, ”he said. “But what are you going to do?”
Marilyn Ryerson of Six Nations of the Grand River comes from a family with a long military history. She was in the military, where she became a mechanic, as were her parents and maternal grandparents.
He has a photo of his mother, Nellie Cusick, and his grandmother, Mable Green, in their military uniforms in Hamilton, Ontario. For Ryerson, they are the image of dignity and perseverance, despite suffering in a residential school.
“They would be horrified to want to put (the flag) back when there are still missing babies and they haven’t even started (searching for graves) on the reservation we are from,” Ryerson said. “They sacrificed, they gave for us and when the target slaps him in the face, it hurts.”
Ryerson, who is 65 and now lives on the reservation but grew up in Hamilton and lived in Montreal for 15 years, said she felt that entering the military brought unique challenges for her as an indigenous person. She says she is now grateful to be out of the military and to live in reserve, on the same land her grandmother and mother used to live.
She said she was upset to read stories in the newspaper that questioned the raising and lowering of the flag when she feels that indigenous peoples still face real-life struggles, fighting for recognition of land claims and the terrors of indigenous children who they are taken to residential schools and orphanage. Also on Friday, the Trudeau government filed an appeal from a court ruling that determined that it must pay substantial compensation to indigenous children who were sent to foster care.
“Well, that is a real tear for me because all of me, being where I am from, all (my family) were soldiers who fought for our people. And here (the government) is taking over the lands, still without confessing it, ”he said. “It is so painful in my mind and in my heart.”
The Royal Canadian Legion says it plans to raise the flag at the National War Memorial in Ottawa before the Remembrance Day ceremony, and then lower it again at half mast.
He is recommending the move to all legions across the country, faced with the decision of what to do when traditional Remembrance Day procedures call for the flag to be lowered from maximum height.
The government generally determines whether the flag at Canada’s National War Memorial flies at half mast, but on Remembrance Day the Legion determines what happens there. He is in charge of the annual ceremony marking the sacrifice of Canadians for their country, which includes the laying of wreaths.
“There is a Canadian flag and a British Union flag at the National War Memorial. On November 11, the Legion controls the site and the two flags and will follow Legion protocol. This means that the flags will be fully hoisted prior to the ceremony and lowered at half mast during the ceremony, ”said Nujma Bond, spokesman for the Legion.
With files from The Canadian Press
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