The Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Legacy of Hope Foundation, Saugeen First Nation, and Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, have partnered to bring the all-powerful ‘Legacy of Hope’ exhibit to the region.
The visual exhibition depicts that, from the early 1830s to 1996, over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, some as young as four years, were forced to attend residential schools funded by the Canadian government and administered by the churches.
The Residential School System consisted of at least 139 schools across the country and was part of a genocidal national strategy to remove Indigenous Peoples from their lands, to destroy their cultures and traditions, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. The mental, physical, and spiritual abuses suffered by these children have had a deep impact, not only on the children themselves, but also on their families, their communities, their descendants, and on Canada as a nation.
Over 300 local children from Saugeen First Nation and Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation were forcibly removed from their homes and communities to attend these schools. Children were sent great distances away across Canada (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan) and into the USA (Michigan).
Join community members from the Chippewas of Saugeen and Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation for more insight about the exhibit and deeper awareness into local and person experiences at the remaining talks on November 19th and 26th – Free to attend – 11AM to 1PM.
As part of the exhibit is the traditional Jingle dress created by Melissa Roote of Saugeen First Nation.
Each jingle cone on the dress represents one of the 215 children found at the former Kamploops
Indian Residential School.
The Jingle dress is worn by women during ceremonial dances at PowWows and is a powerful symbol of healing and a form of prayer.
Exhibit not recommended for under 18 years of age.
Presented by Enbridge.
