Residential schools memorial sculpture 'encapsulates the spirit of reconciliation'
A memorial sculpture honouring those lost and affected by the residential school system is giving Winnipeggers a new gathering place for truth and reconciliation.
The Every Child Matters memorial art project was unveiled Friday at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, 445 King Street. Supporting event coordinator Katie McKenzie said it was a morning full of meaningful experiences.
"(We had) some speakers sharing some teachings about courage - which was our theme today - because we feel that it really takes a lot of courage for youth to take these next steps toward reconciliation," said McKenzie. "We want them to know that they're a part of this too and that they can have a space and a voice."
The memorial sculpture was carved out of Manitoba marble by artist Irvin Head Sr., who passed away in August. His son Irvin Head Jr. says the unveiling was bittersweet.
"My father spent his last couple months of his life making sure that it was to his own rigorous standards and that it was his last project," said Head Jr.
He says the sculpture encapsulates the spirit of reconciliation in the only way that his father could do it - through stone, "it shows off a whole bunch of his trademark aphorisms and different ways he made it his own," said Head Jr.
The sculpture uses different textures of marble to convey a message about residential schools. "(The) roughness of the stone symbolizes the quagmire of colonization, the way our people were taken away from their ancestral lands, taught things that weren’t natural to them," he said.
Head Jr. points out little footsteps that lead up from the rough part of the sculpture into the polished part, "Rising up from the bottom of the sculpture are footprints of a new generation that have been polished. They're trying to become clean from the effects of colonization," he said.
The capstone of the sculpture is a turtle to symbolize Turtle Island. Head Jr. said it includes a smudge bowl that anyone can use, "The community can come by, gather around it, use it as a part of their ceremony," he said.
Head Jr. is reminded of his father every time he looks at the sculpture.
"He would always say he puts a little bit of himself in his artwork, and I can totally feel that now," he said. "The wisdom of the turtle, it makes me feel like I'm looking at him straight in the face."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.