Secret Path Week – October 17 to 22 

By Mary Ann Lyons and Shirley Chaisson, Indigenous Student Advisors 

Chanie Wenjack was born on January 19, 1954, in Ogoki Post, a remote Anishinaabe reserve in northwestern Ontario. In 1963, he and his sisters were sent to the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora, ON. Three years later, at the age of twelve, Chanie ran away from the school, attempting to go home to his family 600 km away. He died of hunger and exposure on Oct. 22, 1966, a week after he escaped. His body was found by a railway worker 60 km from the school. His tragic story is like so many stories of Indigenous children who never returned home from residential schools. 

Gord Downie was the front man and lyricist for The Tragically Hip until his death from glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on Oct 17, 2017. Gord’s last solo project, Secret Path, tells Chanie Wenjack’s story. Read more about what you can do for reconciliACTION at SLC. 

Secret Path Week, Oct. 17 to 22, commemorates the legacies of Gord and Chanie. Its aim is to inspire all Canadians to respond to Gord Downie’s call to learn about the true history of our country and “Do Something” to build a better Canada. This year, Secret Path Week is especially meaningful to St. Lawrence College, as Chanie’s three sisters and members of his extended family, along with members of the Downie family, attended the opening of our Downie-Wenjack Legacy Space in Kingston on August 28.  

As a Downie & Wenjack Legacy School, we hope to continue our reconciliACTION of Orange Shirt Day (Sept. 30) and Sisters in Spirit (Oct. 4) by having everyone in our College family “Do Something” to support the journey of Truth and Reconciliation.  

During the week of October 16 to 20, printed Downie hats will be available in the Indigenous Centres, on which you can record your personal reconciliACTION. We will post these as evidence of our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.   

“Do Something” suggestions: 

-Read about the history of Indigenous people in the country we now call Canada. Include stories of the residential school era.  
-Watch videos about residential schools.   
-Wear your orange shirt and talk about its message: Every Child Matters. 
-Research the Downie & Wenjack Fund and learn about the work being done. Donate to the Fund if you are able. 
-Read the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Report (available online). Make a personal action plan and get started. 
-Have conversations with others about Truth and Reconciliation. 
-Visit your Indigenous Centre and record your personal reconciliACTION.  
-Faculty could take a few minutes in each of their classes to play the Secret Path video and discuss some reconciliACTION initiatives. They could collect a set of hats ahead of time and complete these as a class activity. Managers could conduct the same activity at meetings.