Human rights museum chooses Vancouver to launch digital residential school initiative
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has chosen Vancouver to unveil the next step in an art project offering a hard look at the atrocities inflicted upon Indigenous children at residential schools.
The Witness Blanket is a large installation, with a permanent home at the CMHR in Winnipeg, which aims to bridge Canada’s dark past with a brighter future.
“My father is a residential school survivor. He went to both Sechelt and St. Mary’s in Mission. I grew up knowing very little bit about what that meant,” said master carver Carey Newman, the man responsible for the Witness Blanket. “He’s a person who spent, like many other survivors, a lot of time protecting me and protecting future generations from having to feel what he felt.”
As this country tries to confront and reconcile the atrocities of colonialism, Newman, whose traditional name is Hayalthkin’geme, is one of the voices leading the conversation.
He and his team travelled from coast to coast to gather hundreds of objects from former residential school sites and interview survivors.
“When you go out into community and you ask people to participate in a project like this, you have to be really sensitive about the question that you’re asking because just bringing up the subject can be triggering,” said Newman about talking to people about the physical, emotional and sexual abuse endured at residential schools. "It's traumatic stuff."
Telus has contributed $1 million to help Newman and CMHR launch a website with a digital version of the Witness Blanket, which they unveiled in downtown Vancouver on Monday.
“I hope that for those who didn’t know very much about this history, that they learn a little bit. I hope that they find an object on the blanket that connects with them in a personal way,” Newman said.
The website is designed so users can zoom in and examine each of the hundreds of objects that make up the blanket and click on them to learn more.
In the very centre of the blanket, there is a door which once stood at the entrance to the infirmary at St. Michael's Residential School in Alert Bay.
The digital Witness Blanket also includes video interviews with survivors who say St. Michael’s was the scene of horrific abuse against numerous boys and girls.
"Those were bad experiences, fighting that guy off,” survivor Edwin Newman said about his experience with one abusive staff member. “And then they promoted him to be the vice-principal."
The website also has resources for educators to help future generations understand what happened.
“Of course that’s a huge part of our Canadian identity, especially now as we think about it. We have a complex history. How do we move forward?” said CMHR CEO Isha Kahn. “We know that by building some momentum around understanding where we come from, that’s how we’ll find our path forward in this country.”
By documenting their stories, the Witness Blanket can reduce the onus on survivors to constantly talk about the abuse they endured – which can be re-traumatizing.
“We thought that this was such a great opportunity to make this more widely available than the physical blanket is,” said Newman about the digital version. “But also that it would draw some of that burden away from survivors who are asked to come and tell their story again and again and again. Maybe this will enable them to not have to do quite as much of that labour.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.