Residential school site to become monument to honor those forced to attend

The site of a residential school in Manitoba is becoming a commemorative monument and gathering space to honour the legacy and resiliency of those who attended the school. Mark Neufeld reports.

By Mark Neufeld

A former residential school in Winnipeg where Indigenous children were forced to attend and separated from their communities and families is being transformed into a commemorative monument and gathering space to honor the legacy and resiliency of those who came here.

The Assiniboia Residential school was one of only a few urban residential schools in Canada and the first residential high school in Manitoba. Between 1958 and 1973, more than 750 students from 83 communities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario attended the residential school. Elder Betty Ross was one of those students.

“I graduated from this residential school in 1968 and I was lost after that because I didn’t know who I was. To me they didn’t teach me anything at all, just the straps…the abuse….the trauma,” explained Ross.

Ross says she is thankful for the ground-breaking ceremony that took place on Thursday signalling the start of construction on the memorial project that will sit on the property of the former residential school site. Ross hopes the gathering space will draw people together from all walks of life.

“What we’re experiencing now today is the truth, what really happened to us, and those systems, it will always be a part of us, but we all need to heal.”

The memorial project was started by the Assiniboia Residential School Legacy group, which was formed in 2016 to share stories about the experiences they endured as students attending the school.

Toni Kipling with the Assiniboia Residential School Legacy group board says it’s been a long process to get to this point.

“This site marks our past, present, and future, in the sense that it helps us to remember and honour those little warriors who survived, some who didn’t come home. Our present to acknowledge now we’re making these changes were going to be listening working together and for our future, igniting that seventh fire for us all.”

The memorial will feature a circle of metal markers engraved with the Indigenous names of the communities students were from.

Paving stones will hold the names of the students themselves who attended the school. There is a space for a sacred fire along with accessible walkways surrounded by wildflowers and grasses, the site is for all ages and abilities, and is expected to cost around 1.3 million to build.

Representatives from all three levels of government were present for the ground-breaking ceremony.

“The only way we can start to de-colonize but also promote and undo the things that were done to our people is to start to educate and promote our culture, promote our languages, and promote our ceremonies,” explained David Monias, vice Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO).

The memorial project will also feature panels with photos and graphics to provide additional history about the site which is expected to be ready for countries second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, 2022.

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