Healing pace in Reconciliation Run

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This article was published 18/09/2022 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Movement is medicine to Tréchelle Bunn.

It was a part of her cultural upbringing. A member of Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation who was raised in Wampum, near Sprague, she grew up with the four teachings of the medicine wheel, which focuses on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness.

The 22-year-old student finds herself moving a lot; as a University of Manitoba Bisons hockey player, sport is central to her life.

It’s that ethos that inspired her to organize the first half-marathon set for Sept. 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

“Movement and physical activity have always been a time for me to just gather my own thoughts and reflect inward on myself and my goals,” Bunn said.

“I think participants, during the 21 kilometres, whether that’s a walk or run, they could reflect on the history of the Indian residential school system, or the words of a survivor, or Indigenous culture, something meaningful on the day. I think that the reconciliation run provides that opportunity.”

The half marathon — simply named the Reconciliation Run — carries a painful family history for Bunn: her grandmother and grandfather both attended Birtle Indian Residential School.

“(My grandfather) always talked about wanting nothing more than to run home when he was at the school. He saw the consequences of what happened to his classmates when they tried to run away from the school and go home, so he never did make the attempt himself,” he said.

“Once it was told to me, it was chilling for me, because 26 kilometres when you’re walking, it seems like a long way, but when you’re a kid and all you want is to go home to your family, it’s really not that far at all.”

The school, about 310 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, operated from 1931 to 1972. The site was used to perform ceremonies for years until the building was sold in 2015.

The 21-kilometre Reconciliation Run will start with a ceremony on the front lawn of the former Birtle residential school; elders will share their stories and the event will conclude with a feast in Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation.

“Running away from the school is something that’s really powerful. Running away in honour of all those who never had the chance or never made it home at all kind of became the main point behind the Reconciliation Run,” Bunn said.

She put together a similar walk on July 1, 2021, in the midst of calls to cancel Canada Day celebrations. She called it a healing walk. Around 70 people walked as much as they could, and it moved and inspired her to organize another one.

“It kind of brought people together in the spirit of reconciliation, and it provided education for our non-Indigenous participants. A lot of them shared with me that they learned something and it meant a lot to them that they were able to share that space with my community and other Indigenous peoples and our elders and survivors,” she said.

“I think that wasn’t exactly what I had planned in my head at first, but it actually turned out to be a really beautiful event that spoke to reconciliation.”

The Reconciliation Run was born.

“I think just being there that day, and practising our culture on the front lawn of the very institution that tried to eradicate us and our entire culture was extremely moving and extremely powerful,” she said.

The run will be sanctioned by the Manitoba Runner’s Association as an official half-marathon, but attendees can walk for as long or little as they like; some of her Bisons teammates plan to do the 21 kilometres relay-style.

She hopes it’s a time of reflection for anyone who walks the ground where so many, including her own family, faced trauma.

“As an Indigenous woman, as an Indigenous student and athlete, I think a lot of the time, events like this, and reconciliation in general, falls on the shoulders of Indigenous people,” she said.

“I think sometimes there’s a narrative push that we’re responsible for reconciliation, when really, we’re all responsible for reconciliation. I think that’s the biggest thing that I like to share with people.”

Interested participants can register at www.reconciliationrun.ca.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca