Today is the first day of a two-day Indigenous Engagement conference in Saskatoon which brings which brings businesses, organizations and community groups together to learn about inclusive representation.

The City’s Director of Indigenous Initiatives, Melissa Cote, says, “It really came about because of some individuals who worked for different organizations within the city who wanted to talk about reconciliation and better understand how it applies to their organization and where are the gaps.” Residential School Survivor, Gilbert Kewistep says, “Acknowledging and sharing the truth helps us Survivors in healing from our trauma. Sharing our teachings with the broader community helps others understand what we lost and what we are trying to regain.”

Guest speakers include Residential School Survivors sharing their experiences, the former commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Chief Cadmus Delorme of the Cowessess First Nation.

It was June of 2021 when what are believed to be 751 unmarked graves were discovered on the site of a former residential school on the Cowessess First Nation.
Over eight years, between 2007 and 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission travelled the country to bear witness to residential school experiences and to create a permanent historical record, and this week’s conference is the eighth and final Wicihitowin Indigenous Engagement Conference in Saskatoon.