By Rosalind Russell – Indigenous artists and professionals are being invited to submit designs based on the theme “Empowering the Anishnabe in the Child” for Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island.
According to the release from Wiikwemkoong Tourism, the winning design will guide the creation of a lasting monument remembering the children of the Wikwemikong Holy Cross Mission schools, which predated confederation.
In 1847, the first stages of the Infamous Indian Residential School system was proposed by Egerton Ryerson with Wikwemikong being one of the original sites.
However, even before this era, the community was home to the Wikwemikong Industrial Residential School that was built in 1844.
By 1856 there were both an Indian Day School for boys and one for girls but in 1911, both schools burnt to the ground, and children then attended the Spanish Indian Residential school in 1912.
The final artwork marking this history will incorporate the winning design of the successful artist(s).
All designs must have an Indigenous lead with entrants working alongside the planning team with the final design incorporated into the monument.
The final artwork will be transformed into a mounted metal installation.
Contestants must provide proof of Indigenous ancestry and submit original, respectful artwork.
For full details, see the contest rules and history of the Indian Residential Schools
For more information, call 705-859-3477 and email submissions to info@wikytours.com
In a legacy that lasted from the late 19th Century to 1996, Indian Residential Schools were produced to essentially, as Sir John a Macdonald referred, to “remove the Indian in the Child”.
The contest is focused on a monument depicting the reversal of the intentions of these schools. Reviving the Anishinabe in the child to instill the Mno Bimaadwin (good life) rooted in language, love and culture is how they aim to contribute to the healing.
They want to honour those attendees and commemorate the ones that did not make it back home so that they may empower the next generation to be strong, resilient and proud Anishinaabe.
photos: Images are as followed:
-“Honouring Our Children, Families, and Communities Affected by Indian Residential Schools Project,” The Anishinabek Nation head office, Nipissing First Nation
-Monument to the victims of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, Kamploops, BC. -Master carver Stanley C. Hunt stands in front of the Indian Residential School Memorial Monument he created. Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, QC
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