Madam Speaker, today, I rise in the House to honour Eleanor Mitchell from the Potlotek Mi'kmaq community, an elder whose life embodies resilience, compassion and enduring strength.
Eleanor was taken to the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School at the age of six, separated from her family and subjected to the trauma that so many indigenous children endured. Despite these hardships, Eleanor's life became a testament to survival and love. She raised three sons, cared for her mother through illness and is cherished by her family for her knitting and baking.
Eleanor is the last living survivor in Potlotek to have attended the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. This week, her community will honour her.
My aunt Eleanor's story reverberates with both pain and hope. On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, let her name be remembered in the House and let her courage inspire our continued commitment to truth, reconciliation and justice.