A special display erected for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at the McNab-Braeside Township office pays tribute to Indigenous Peoples and the tragedy of residential schools.
The Witness Blanket, inspired by a woven blanket, is a large-scale work of art containing hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada.
The township office’s new display features canvas prints of some of the original artwork, explains Andrea Lamontagne, the township’s recreation director.
The township’s plaque on the display outlines how the Witness Blanket collects and holds many stories, telling the sweeping history of the residential schools that operated across the country for more than 100 years.
Survivors of the schools bear witness by telling their stories and it’s important that members of the broader public educate themselves and get involved in the reconciliation process, said Lamontagne.
There’s been some positive feedback about the new display, both on social media and from those who have come in to take a look.
The Witness Blanket display will be up until the end of October.
Find more information about the Witness Blanket online.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)
