Orange Shirt Day

September 30, 2014 is the second annual Orange Shirt Day.  The day grew out of a residential school commemoration event held in Williams, Lake BC in Spring 2013.  During this event Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a Survivor of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School described her experience of arriving at the residential school and having an … Continue reading Orange Shirt Day

Bringing the Legacy of Residential Schools into the Classroom

My latest post, "Bringing the Legacy of Residential Schools into the Classroom" can be seen over on Active History.  The post focuses on resources that can help teachers integrate residential schools into their lessons. I look a handful of education tools which can be accessed digitally and are good starting points for teaching the history … Continue reading Bringing the Legacy of Residential Schools into the Classroom

Archives Association of Ontario Conference

Next week I will be attending the 2014 Archives Association of Ontario conference.  This year's conference theme is "Party With Your Archives" with many of the presentations focusing on the use of archival collections in community events, commemoration projects, and the creation of collective memory.  On Friday May 30th I will be presenting "Marginalized Voices: … Continue reading Archives Association of Ontario Conference

Social Justice in the Archives

The 2013 Fall/Winter issue of The American Archivist opens with two articles focusing on social justice within the archival profession.  The first "A Critique of Social Justice as an Archival Imperative: What Is It We're Doing That's All That Important" by Mark A. Greene.  This piece challenges the idea that "to be an ethical archivists, … Continue reading Social Justice in the Archives

Children to Children Art Installation Opening

Part of the Project of Heart Commemorating the Children of Future Generations Initiative the Ontario based commemoration project "Children to Children" will open at the 180 Projects Gallery in Sault Ste Marie on December 7th at 7pm. Project of Heart is a hands on artistic and history project aiming to commemorate the children who died while … Continue reading Children to Children Art Installation Opening

Journey Women: An Art Exhibit of Aboriginal Women’s Healing Experiences

The Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre is currently hosting an exhibit of artwork created by women from  Minwaashin Lodge-Aboriginal Women's Support Centre. The exhibit features ‘body-map’ images created by seven women in a three day arts based workshop on the healing experiences of Aboriginal Women.This workshop was part of a collaborative research initiative between Minwaashin Lodge and Concordia … Continue reading Journey Women: An Art Exhibit of Aboriginal Women’s Healing Experiences

Serving Time at the Mush Hole

The Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre at Algoma University is currently hosing the exhibit "Serving Time at The Mush Hole: Visual Testimony of R. G. Miller-Lahiaaks (Mohawk, Six Nations) — Selected works from Mush Hole Remembered (2008)."In the words of artist R.G. Miller, this exhibit represents "a combination of vague, mundane memories of years at the … Continue reading Serving Time at the Mush Hole

Five Years Later: Looking Back at the Residential School Apology

June 11th marked the fifth anniversary of the Canadian Government's formal Residential School apology.  This apology took place in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008 and included a number of commitments toward healing and reconciliation and redressing the historical wrongs of Residential Schools.  The full text of the apology can be seen here.What … Continue reading Five Years Later: Looking Back at the Residential School Apology

Red Memory: Residential Schools Exhibit

Tree of emotions One of the prominent parts of The Learning Place at the TRC National Event in Quebec was the Red Memory exhibit created by the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission.  The exhibit aims to tell the true history of the Indian Residential Schools that existed in Quebec … Continue reading Red Memory: Residential Schools Exhibit

National Archives at NCPH

The final session I attended on Thursday at NCPH was "Competing Narratives, Competing Needs: The Roles and Responsibilities of a National Archive and its Audiences."  The panel was comprised of staff from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) including: Rebecca Giesbrecht, Jenna Murdock Smith, Jennifer Wilhelm and Katherine Comber as facilitator.  Giesbrecht began the session by … Continue reading National Archives at NCPH