On May 26th, All Saints Catholic School in Kanata participated in Project of Heart. It capped off Aboriginal Awareness Week at their school, and provided a unique opportunity for the whole school to learn about Indian Residential Schools and their impact on Aboriginal families and communities from their Indigenous guests. Native Studies teacher Amy Talarico and Art teacher Graham Mastersmith teamed up to help guide their students in learning about this much under-taught aspect of Canadian history, in preparation for presentations by an IRS survivor and a respected Elder. Continue reading All Saints Catholic H.S. students experience Project of Heart →

Students at Frederick Banting Secondary School in Stittsville participated in Project of Heart as part of their Lifeskills and Aboriginal Studies courses. They chose to commemorate the Spanish Indian Residential School – formerly Wikwemikong – in Manitoulin Island.  The tiles were smudged by Willy Bruce, who is a Native veteran and Carrier of the Aboriginal Vetern’s Eagle Staff.  Students participated in an Honour Song at the Drum and listened attentively to Willy as he shared the Traditional Teachings on values that should govern our choices in life.  As well, Willy gifted an Eagle Feather to the Banting Staff to honour all the young warriors who gave their health or lives as a result of the IRS experience. Continue reading Frederick Banting Alternate stands witness to residential school history →

Those are the words of a student from teacher Kristin Jefferies’s First Place program at Richard Pfaff Alternative in Ottawa.

The First Place students were reacting to what they had learned about the experience of being aboriginal during the Residential School era in Canada. The empathy they felt with the story of the abused students of their chosen school — Poplar Hill Residential School in Northern Ontario — showed clearly in the care and creativity with which they crafted their memorial tiles. Continue reading “I know what it’s like to be singled out” →