Doing What We Can for Truth and Reconciliation

October 15, 2021

Academics

GNS

On September 30, the Tripleshot cycling club organized an amazing event in an effort to commemorate the Day for Truth And Reconciliation. One of our members, Carey Newman, is a First Nations artist and he designed a jersey for participants to wear.

The first goal of the ride was to visit as many places of significance to the various First Nations groups throughout the capital region as possible. The second goal was a plan to have the ride be 215 km long in memoriam of the 215 unmarked graves found at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, the largest in Canada, located on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc traditional territory. The ride was organized with multiple loops (Loop 1 – 52 km, Loop 2 – 74 km, and Loop 3 – 89 km) so that riders could complete 1, 2 or all 3 loops as they were able. The central point for each loop was the Songhees Wellness Center where staff were wonderfully gracious in allowing the group to refuel and get repairs, and who also served us an amazing lunch that included wild Sockeye salmon.

The day got underway with 70 or so cyclists congregating at Oaklands Elementary School in the pouring rain for an opening speech by the jersey artist, Carey Newman. He spoke beside the totem pole that he helped design and create with students from the school and told this inspirational story about a hummingbird: “There was a great fire in a forest and because of its heat and intensity, all the animals were fleeing the forest to seek refuge except for a single hummingbird who was flying to the nearby river, gathering up a few drops of water and then flying to the fire to drop the water. The animals asked the bird why they were doing this since it was only a small bit of water and would not put out the fire. The hummingbird replied, ‘I am doing what I can.’” The artist reminded us that our gesture, our event, was an extension of the hummingbird’s effort—we were doing what we could.

We ventured on from here, completing the first loop where some riders had to leave, and others joined to take up the cause. Fortunately, the weather began to improve, and the cycling became easier. We rode as a group, meaning that if someone had a mechanical issue (flat tire, broken fenders, etc.) we all stopped and helped to pitch in with the repairs.

The routes took us through Colwood, Metchosin, Sooke, Central Saanich, and North Saanich. Our spirits were high and the reason for riding was never far from our minds.

At 7 p.m., with the daylight hours waning—a full 12 hours after we began that morning—a group of 12 riders completed all three routes and arrived at the Legislature building downtown. As we pulled in, the security team were lowering the Survivor Flag that was raised in honour of this day. As we were about to take a group photo to chronicle the event, they gave us the flag to hold as we stood in front of the memorial of the 215+ pairs of shoes on the building’s steps. It was an incredible honour and it cannot be put in to words the emotions we all felt as we stood for the children who can no longer stand.