Our own Jim and Marjorie Dawson from Norfolk Sunrise acted as hosts for the 2026 Youth to Youth (Y2Y) Truth and Reconciliation gathering which was held at Six Nations Mar 22-29. As usual, Rotarians were quick to volunteer to fill in gaps as needed. Sunrisers Gail Bouw, Mary Mercato and Nancy Sherwin helped with the initial meal preparations as the youth gathered from all across Canada on Mar 22. Gail Catherwood, Jill Ormsbee and Dave Douglas helped prepare dinner on Tuesday as all delegates attended the Woodland Cultural Centre. Lisa Bishop did double duty picking up our Maine Global Grant partner Patty Sprague on Thursday and attended the end of week celebration bringing greetings from the Host District 7090. Andy Kooistra from Norfolk Sunrise along with Tom O’Neill, Richard Yoshioka, Joy O’Donald, Darian Boyington and Kent McDonald from area clubs, assisted in the transportation of students and helpers on Sat Mar 28.
To hear more about the program from the Rotary students who were in attendance - please come to our RCNS 21 Apr 2026, meeting at 7am on Zoom. This meeting will feature Jim & Marjorie's event report along with the two talented Rotary students selected from our District 7090 - Rahaf Rifa (St Catharines) & Lexi Rose (Brantford).
More photos at the “Read more ..” tab.
The event was a wonderful event celebrating Indigenous culture, language and teachings from a variety of knowledge keepers from the Haudenosaunee and Aanishinaabe cultures. In all, 25 Indigenous and 25 non Indigenous youth came from many cultures and backgrounds to hear how they can impact their communities in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation.
