Where Are The Children?

Healing The Legacy Of Residential Schools

“Symbols of Power and Stability”

For thousands of years, indigenous people had flourished on this continent, imparting to their children—from generation to generation—a great sense of respect for their environment, their communities, and their families. The arrival of Europeans slowly began to erode the integrity and strength of Indigenous cultures. Government and church institutions justified taking indigenous children away to residential schools by asserting that their families were not capable of taking proper care of their children.

Indians were “savages” and needed to be “civilized” by forced assimilation. The reality is that these children did not enter these schools uneducated. The objects I have selected from the Glenbow’s extensive indigenous collection are symbols of the rich knowledge and cultures that existed in indigenous communities. They are symbols of what was lost when the children passed through the residential school doors.

“Where are the Children? examines and acknowledges the experiences, consequences and impact of Canada’s Residential School System on Aboriginal peoples.

The exhibition consists of 118 framed archival photographs, text panels, maps, original classroom textbooks and historical government papers selected from nine public and church archives. Where are the Children? does not attempt to tell the whole story about residential schools; rather, it introduces people to a part of Canadian history that spans over 130 years from the 1880s to present day.

Through documentation, acknowledgment and education, the exhibition aims to promote understanding and reconciliation in Canada about residential schools and the continued effect they have on people’s lives today.” More information on Glenbow’s website

Organized by The Legacy of Hope Foundation Where are the Children: Healing the Legacy of Residential Schools will be exhibiting at the Glenbow from OCTOBER 18, 2014 – JANUARY 4, 2015.