Williams Lake Unity Ride - The Power of Community Generated Reconciliation

Two Unity Riders arriving at the site of St. Joseph's Indian Residential School

A few years ago I was invited to a Unity Ride.  I didn't quite understand what it was, or what was going to happen.  Someone just told me that horses were involved, which was a bit daunting since I had never ridden a horse before.

It turned out that the Unity Ride was developed and run by members of the Indigenous communities in and around Williams Lake, which was the site of St. Joseph's Indian Residential School.  Over the past century, Indian Residential Schools in Canada (and Indian Boarding Schools in the US) were notorious tools of forced assimilation.   Children were taken away to live in institutions, often at a significant distance from their families so that their families and communities could not ‘interfere’ with the process of assimilating them into the settler population.  The impacts on Indigenous people in Canada were deep and broad.  Several generations were impacted and individuals suffered from serious sexual and physical assaults, cultural and familial alienation, and assaults on their identities.   For more information, please see CBC history of Indian Residential Schools.  Also, there are many publications available through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

At the St. Joseph’s Indian Residential School at Williams Lake, children were taken to the schools from the surrounding communities by horseback and horse-drawn carriages.  The Unity Ride was a type of healing re-enactment of that ride, with members of the community and dignitaries accompanying them in solidarity as they reclaimed the ride.  The goal was to provide a way for survivors of the school system to overcome their sense of alienation and hurt.  It was also to bring the broader community to a level of understanding of the impact of residential schools on their Indigenous neighbours and reach out to survivors.

I was placed on a horse-drawn wagon (thank god...) for the duration of the ride. The ride was a gentle introduction to the people involved with the event and the significance of what we were doing.  The ride, accompanied by a police honour guard, was solemn and contemplative.  Once we arrived at the site of the residential school, I was immersed in two days of transformative and memorable experiences.  Before I went there, I had never been to the interior of British Columbia, and I had no understanding of the social dynamics.  The communities that initiated the Unity Ride created a space where people were able to safely share their stories in an environment of respect.  And it was a space wherein people like myself could be invited to properly listen and interact at a very human level.  Strangers coming together to communicate, share and experience - strangers no more.  Communities manifesting the power to overcome severe disenfranchisement that they had experienced over decades of identity suppression.

 There were many generations at the Unity Ride, as well as much support from the non-Indigenous community members around Williams Lake.  Here is a picture of a very junior rider.

A small Unity Rider - there in support of his Elders.

At one point in the event, a senior officer from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police delivered an apology to residential school survivors.  I saw many people weep when they heard the apology, and others who approached the officer to shake his hand and hug him.  Here is a picture of people gathering around to listen to him:

Survivors of Indian Residential Schools and their families listening to an official apology delivered by a senior member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Among the range of emotions experienced were joy, unity and good feeling.  This is why it is so important to participate in all stages of a transformative experience, or a ceremony.  There are stages to go through before you come back to your daily life, and integrate what you have learned.  In this picture, there is a friendly song competition between two communities, with their chiefs in the lead.

Singing competition between two communities. I am standing behind the opposing team.

There were also other competitive and very fun games well into the evening.  I had a chance to play Lahal which is a game of songs, drumming and bone tiles. I can't really explain it....Someone from the territory might want to jump in and explain instead of me.

And yes, by the end of the event, I did get on a horse.....