On Sept. 30, Sebastian De Line will serve as Fire Keeper on Agnes Benidickson Field during Queen’s University’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sacred Fire, fulfilling a duty that wasn’t an intentional calling.

In 2018, De Line attended a sacred fire at Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre to help grieve the loss of a relative. That moment sparked a connection, and though fire keeping wasn’t in their plans then, it’s now a key part of their life.

“A lot of the different roles we have in community are not things that we choose,” says De Line, Associate Curator, Care and Relations at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. “They’re things that we receive, and that’s usually because community members see something in us that we needed ourselves, like a medicine. Because of that relationship and having that kind of experience, you then end up continuing on that path.”

During regular visits to Four Directions, De Line was encouraged to pursue fire keeping and its teachings, and now, for a second consecutive year, De Line will serve as Fire Keeper for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sacred Fire. Open to all campus community members, the event offers a chance to reflect on the harm caused to Indigenous Peoples and communities by residential schools, and to understand our collective role in advancing Truth and Reconciliation at Queen’s and across Canada.

The event starts at 1:15 p.m. with speeches beginning at 1:30 p.m. At the end, tobacco will be offered at the fire, with a short teaching and explanation of the practice, then collected to be placed in the fire afterwards by the Fire Keeper. For those who participate, this serves as a gesture of gratitude or to honour loved ones.

Scheduled to speak are Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane, Associate Vice-Principal (Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion) Lavonne Hood, Rector Niki Boytchuk-Hale, and Office of Indigenous Initiatives Acting Associate Director Mika Henry.

Observed every year on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is dedicated to reflecting on the history of Canada’s residential school system, which operated from 1831 to 1996. It is a time to acknowledge the harmful impacts residential schools continue to have on Indigenous Peoples and communities, and to remember its victims and survivors.

De Line, who has kept fire for events at Four Directions and in the broader community, hopes this reflection fosters understanding and relationship building. They emphasize that a sacred fire holds different meanings to different people and communities, a view shared by Te ho wis kwûnt, Allen Doxtator, Cultural Advisor in the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.

“To me, a sacred fire is when one feels they need to burn a fire for someone who needs to feel our love, honesty, caring, and respect,” Doxtator says. “Whether they are here or in the spirit world. Others have their own thoughts on what a sacred fire means.”

Monday’s sacred fire concludes a month of activities held in observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, but an important reminder of the university’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation lies in the raising of the Survivors’ Flag. The flag, located between Douglas Library and Ontario Hall near the Indigenous Pasts and Futures at Queen’s plinth, was raised on Sept. 23 and will fly permanently to honour residential school survivors and commemorate the children who tragically lost their lives. It is also a reminder to the Queen’s community that our commitment to advancing truth and reconciliation must happen year-round.

De Line says many cultures across the globe hold fire in high regard, and in Indigenous teachings, it’s connected to the sun, the fire that burns at the centre of Mother Earth, and the fire within each person. Monday’s sacred fire is a reminder of that connection. 

“Sometimes our fire can get dim during tough times and in other times it can be quite bright depending on what's going on in our life,” says De Line. “This has been an important teaching for me to learn from our elders on campus, like Allen Doxtator, that nurturing that fire within ourselves is essential. It's part of having a good mind. That daily practice of showing up to yourself and showing up to life, no matter how things go — whether good or bad — that’s just part of our experiences being human beings.”