Mosaic Stadium’s Seat of Truth is a “daily reminder” of the importance of Reconciliation
There will always be one seat unsold and unoccupied at Mosaic Stadium.
Painted orange and conspicuous in a predominantly green Section 531, the “Seat of Truth” honours Indigenous children who were taken from their homes and into residential schools.
The seat was unveiled on Sept. 29, 2022 during the City of Regina’s Miyo-wîcîwitowin Day. The large-scale event attracted more than 12,000 people — including students and First Nations people from across Saskatchewan — to Mosaic Stadium.
“It’s very powerful symbolism,” Saskatchewan Roughriders President-CEO Craig Reynolds said leading up to today — the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
“The stadium gets lots of use. Obviously, our games are very full, but it gets lots of community use, too.
“When you’re on the field playing community soccer or flag football or when two high school teams are playing, the seat is very, very visible when you look up there.
“Hopefully it’s a reminder to people as to why it’s there in the first place.”
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home, along with survivors of residential schools. The day was declared a federal statutory holiday in 2021.
The message is reinforced every time Reynolds looks out his office window and sees Section 531, Row 7, Seat 11.
“The orange seat is a daily reminder for me and for everyone in this building,” he said.
“It could be the middle of January and you look out there and see the orange seat and remember why it’s there.”
The orange seat resulted from a collaboration between the City of Regina, the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd., and Cowessess First Nation, who joined forces for Miyo-wîcîwitowin Day. (“Miyo-wîcîwitowin” is Cree for “reconciliation.”)
“That was a great day,” Reynolds reflected. “Two residential school survivors were there when the seat was unveiled. There are lots of moments in this job you will not forget, but that’s certainly one I won’t forget.”
The Roughriders’ business office, ticket office and Mosaic Stadium store are closed on Tuesday to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
