When Alethea Greyeyes reflects on the Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk she helped organize in Saskatoon last fall, one word comes to mind: Beautiful.
“There were primarily non-Indigenous runners coming out to support an Indigenous initiative. Watching non-Indigenous families listen to a traditional drum song for the first time and see the smudging that happened before we started the race was beautiful,” says Greyeyes, a runner from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation.
The overwhelming support for last year’s event spurred Greyeyes and Indigenous Runner/Red Trail Running to bring the Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk back to Saskatoon on Sept. 30 to again honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Greyeyes hopes this year’s run will be the second of many, and she aspires to collaborate with local schools to grow the event into something as widely recognized as the Terry Fox Run. She believes marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with movement is a meaningful way to honour Indigenous children who attended residential schools — a concept she calls ReconciliAction.
“Having movement as part of the message of reconciliation, it invokes a spirit of wellness, of vitality. And it’s that vehicle that carries us forward,” she says. “Often truth and reconciliation initiatives are very heartbreaking, which we have to acknowledge. There’s sorrow, there’s grief. There’s a lot of lives that were affected intergenerationally. However, this is a good way to acknowledge that spirit that needs to move forward. And I feel that running, walking and just gathering to move as one is just the best way to bring any kind of message forward.”
Here’s what you need to know about this year’s event:
What: Saskatoon’s Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk includes 5km and 10km distances plus a 2.15km route for elders and children.
The event is held to honour the Indigenous youth who did not survive the residential school era and in support and solidarity for those who did.
Proceeds will support the Orange Shirt Society, which raises awareness about the lasting impacts of residential schools, as well as local initiatives that promote Indigenous athletes.
Where: All distances start and end in Rotary Park by the Victoria Bridge.
When: The event takes place on Sept. 30, which marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. A prayer and ceremony gets underway at 9:15 a.m. with all distances kicking off at 10 a.m. See the full schedule on Race Roster.
How to sign up: Register online via Race Roster. Cost of registration is $29.24 for the 2.15km, $42.23 for the 5km and $58.45 for the 10km. On-site registration will also be available on Sept. 30 if space allows (up to 50 last-minute registrants are permitted).
