Unveiling the truth Artwork recognizing impact of residential school system now on display in St. Mary’s

Unveiling the truth

Artwork recognizing impact of residential school system now on display in St. Mary’s

By Joanne Jordan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

SHERBROOKE — A piece of artwork created in recognition of the impact of the residential school system in Canada is now on display in the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s office.

The painting by Natasha Root, a Mi’gma’qi artist, was unveiled following council’s committee of the whole meeting on April 17.

“The project took longer than anticipated to get here, but the process was the most important element of this undertaking,” St. Mary’s Director of Community Development and Recreation Kerri Jack said in a municipal press release.

She and Indigenous Elder Geri LeBlanc collaborated on the initiative after council approved a motion in 2021 to provide an honorarium and have the piece commissioned.

“Truth and Reconciliation takes time,” Jack said. “It is important to work in collaboration with indigenous individuals and communities when it comes to Truth and Reconciliation projects. Working towards the completion of this painting has helped the municipality to create and learn proper procedures and practices when working with Indigenous partners that will continue after the completion of this project. This was about more than just creating a commemorative piece, the process to get here today is what Truth and Reconciliation can truly look like.”

Before the unveiling, LeBlanc provided a brief overview of her life, along with the process required to complete the project.

“We [she and Jack] discussed what it is that she wanted, which was actually a plaque of some sort for residential school survivors. I’m a residential school survivor, I’ve been in residential school from grade zero to grade seven. I thought it was a good idea to have that, but what it was, I am not a residential school survivor here in Mi'kma'ki, I am a residential school survivor from Saskatchewan.”

They decided that LeBlanc would reach out to other elders and survivors of residential schools, those in Mi’kma’ki, and find out if they wanted the plaque put up and get their input on the St. Mary’s project.

LeBlanc explained that meetings to discuss such matters are done in person so those involved can speak together in their languages, which led to a male elder reaching out to others – older elders who are survivors of the residential school system in Nova Scotia.

In keeping with the opinions and suggestions given, it was recommended that the piece should be a painting; should use simple wording, so as to be accessible to all; and should not include the word “survivor” but should instead focus on the endurance of those who made it through the residential school system.

When it came time to decide who would create the piece of art for the municipality, LeBlanc suggested it be a Mi’gma’qi artist. She said she searched around and in the end decided to have Jack reach out to her friend Root and ask her if she might be interested in taking on the project.

Root, who agreed to take on the challenge, describes herself as “a two-spirited Mi'gmaw woman” from Listuguj First Nation in Quebec, which is in the traditional district of Gespeg in the unceded territory of the Mi'gmaq known as Mi'gma'gi. She is a mixed media artist that specializes in painting and digital designs.

Root had the freedom to use her creativity while incorporating the ideas and suggestions of the elders and others who were consulted on the project.

“You guys are going to be so surprised,” she said as she removed the cloth covering the painting, revealing the final result of three years’ worth of planning by so many.

Brightly coloured, the painting includes an image of children gathered in a group - representing the young survivors of residential schools - and a mother and her child kneeling, with an eagle flying in front of the moon above them.

“The reason for the eagle,” explained LeBlanc, “is that in our teachings, the eagle represents love. It’s one of the seven grandfather teachings – the first one is love. And, that tells us that if we don’t love ourselves, we won’t be able to love everybody else or anybody else. Before you can love anybody else, you’ve got to accept your person, yourself and what you’ve gone through, which helped us a lot surviving residential schools.”

Beneath the painted images is the inscription, “In honour of the children who were taken from their families and sent to residential schools and the families left behind. We are still here.”

Joanne Jordan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal