A stark black-and-orange pillar covered with 130 individually hand-carved unsmiling faces, created by master carver Stanley Hunt, arrived at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on Monday. The Indian Residential School Memorial Monument, a three-year cross-country journey from Port Hardy, was inaugurated as part of the museum's permanent collection.
A Kwakwaka’wakw artist’s memorial carving dedicated to those who attended residential schools ended its three-year cross-country journey from Port Hardy on Monday when it was formally unveiled as a display in the Canadian Museum of History’s permanent collection.
Hunt said the delegation was met by an Algonquin Elder on Monday morning in accordance with Algonquin protocol. “We answered them with our drum and song, the songs of seeing the monument here in Ottawa for a journey all the way across the country.” “A person might be a bit offended when they see that the cross is upside down. But I’m more offended that they got away with murdering children for 150 years,” Hunt said.
An estimated 6,000 children died while attending the schools, although experts say the actual number could be much higher. Hunt carved the piece with the assistance of two other carvers, Rey Dickie and Mervyn Child over the course of about a year.Students from Wagalus School in Port Hardy — some of whom were present at the museum on Monday — helped to paint the monument’s black coating.“One RCMP officer came by at least four times in full uniform, seeing if there’s some more she could do … she painted probably more than rest of them,” he said.
Residential Schools Indigenous Art Stanley Hunt Canadian Museum Of History Reconciliation
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