The Otter Lake chapter of Native Alliance of Quebec hosted a sunrise ceremony on Sunday to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day, which took place Sept. 30. 

Twenty or so people made their way to the town’s Recreation Association centre at the crack of dawn with lawn chairs and blankets to partake in the ceremony, which was led by Mohawk elder Tom Dearhouse from Kahnawake, as well as Indigenous scholar and Ladysmith resident John Ward. 

Otter Lake chapter director Chuck Burke said he organized the event because he felt there was a lack of local ceremonies to commemorate this day. 

“In the Pontiac, it should be celebrated like everywhere else in Canada. I noticed most of the small towns weren’t really doing much in this area, but there’s a lot of native history here that people don’t know,” he said. 

“And we’re also on Algonquin unceded territory,” he added, emphasizing the importance of  honouring this history.