Residential school survivor urges individuals to ‘educate themselves’ on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

This Saturday, residents across Calgary will observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Lena Wildman, a survivor of residential schools, hopes that this occasion will encourage people to gain insight into the experiences endured by her and countless others.

“This is an opportunity for everybody to learn the truth about this dark time,” said Wildman. “(Learn) what really happened in the schools. Because when I went to school, none of that was in the social curriculum.”

At the tender age of four, Lena Wildman was separated from her family. In 1965, she recalls a moment when she was camping with her family on the eastern edge of the Stoney Chiniki First Nation, only for authorities to arrive.

Enrolled at the Morley Indian Residential School, situated approximately 50 kilometers to the west of Calgary, Lena Wildman endured some of the most harrowing experiences of her life.

“It was a place where I learned the hard way, hard way, not to speak my language,” she recalled.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has now documented over 4,100 confirmed names of children who perished while attending residential schools. The commission has acknowledged that the actual number of lives lost is likely considerably higher.