Honouring our Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
The Peace River School Division is restating our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by continuing to plan flag raising Ceremonies to honour both the Treaty 8 flag and the Métis flag. Our next flag raising Ceremony will be held this Spring at our Central Operations building in Grimshaw, and at both of our schools in Fairview. The date for these Ceremonies will be finalized in early 2025.
The PRSD is committed to working in close partnership with local First Nations and Métis communities to ensure we are responding to the need for Truth and Reconciliation in a meaningful way. In 2021, the Board of Trustees passed a motion to honour the Treaty 8 flag and the Métis flag at all PRSD schools and held our first flag raising Ceremony at the Grimshaw Shared Schools Facility on September 23, 2021.
Under the guidance of an Elder, dates originally set for the Spring of 2023 were postponed when wildfires in many northern Alberta communities caused extensive damage and devastation. Then, in 2024, the wildfire situation in northern Alberta remained much too volatile to confidently plan for a Ceremony months in advance.
The PRSD acknowledges the harm caused by residential schools in Alberta, and across Canada, and for this reason, it is imperative that we meaningfully demonstrate that our schools are a safe place for all of our students. These flag raising Ceremonies will be a physical reminder of our Division’s ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.
“The territory our schools stand on is appropriately recognized as Alberta, as Canada, as Treaty 8 territory and as the land base of the Métis Nation. As a Division, we feel it is important to recognize all four of these designations at the front of all of our schools. Showing respect for the Treaty 8 flag and the Métis flag in no way diminishes the respect that we show for the Alberta flag or the Canadian flag. We are excited to have our students witness the raising of these flags, which they will then see each and every day when they come to school.”
- PRSD Board Chair Crystal Owens
-30-
For more Information:
Kristin Dyck
Communications Coordinator
dyckk@prsd.ab.ca
780-624-3601 ext. 10154