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Islanders gather for Day of Healing breakfast in Old Massett

By Heather Ramsay-Focus on moving forward, that was the point made at a breakfast event on the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation Monday in Old Massett.Different events took place across the country, said Sandra Dan from the Haida Health Centre in Old Massett, but she wanted to focus on sharing information about different methods of healing.With the federal government embarking on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential school abuses and with an official apology pending (June 11), many who were impacted by residential schools are thinking about their experiences. She said rather than dwell on the past, the 32 people who attended the event were looking toward the future."The idea is to focus on what we can do about it," she said.She expects funding will be available for Haida communities with respect to the commission's work and hopes people will start to think about what would be the best thing for here."I've always been really inspired by Rediscovery," she said. But there are many other things going on in the community too, like training in Reiki, and meditation."We are conditioned to going up town to see the doctor," Ms Dan said. She hopes people will look toward other ways of healing, like living healthy and eating healthy, using local plants, or doing different kinds of energy work.Part of her idea is to help break down the barriers between people who are and aren't Haida or who did and didn't go to residential school. She is also interested in ensuring there isn't as much duplication going on. She'd like to make a day for different groups to get together and share ideas.As for the apology day, she's thinking of getting people together on June 11 to watch coverage of the event.Anyone with other ideas can contact her at the Haida Health Centre at 626-3911.