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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Saskatchewan isn't remitting the carbon tax on home heating. Why isn't my province following suit?
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
RCMP officers had no legal authority to enter man's home, make arrest: B.C. court
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of assaulting two RCMP officers – with the court finding he was resisting an "unlawful entry and arrest" in his home before he was tasered, taken down and hauled away in handcuffs.
Body of Quebec man who died in Cuba found in Russia, family confirms
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.