THE RIDGE — Linda Whitford wasn't allowed to speak her Cree language when she attended residential school as a child.
She remembers being hit on the head whenever she tried to speak Cree.
"You know, we got hit for no reason," Whitford said. "Sometimes I didn't even want to breathe when I went by a nun."
Thanks to her grandmother, she was able to learn Cree again when she came home from residential school 11 years later.
For Truth and Reconciliation Day, Whitford hopes it helps remind people that the stories shared about residential school trauma are true.
"It's for people to believe what we went through because I know so many don't believe it," she said.
Whitford was among several people who shared their stories about residential school abuse at Mosquito Grizzly Bear's Head Lean Man First Nation’s (MGBHLM) land on the Ridge, south of Battleford, on Oct. 1.
People who gathered for the event also took part in a walk to the Battleford Industrial School cemetery to honour residential school survivors and those who didn't make it home.
MGBHLM Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman said the event was held on Oct. 1 instead of Sept. 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, since there were other events happening in the Battlefords on Sept. 30. It was also an opportunity for many students to attend.
"We're expecting our young people from nation to nation to come on down, and from the Battlefords and North Battleford," she said.
She said Orange Shirt Day has special significance in all communities.
"I want to acknowledge a young lady in B.C. who had the courage to speak out from her experience wen she went to residential school wearing an orange shirt, and it was taken away," said Aguilar-Antiman. "It's very symbolic. You look across the country, you look across the world, and September 30th is a very significant day."
