Art exhibit displays rare drawings

Experiences witnessed by Residential School survivors as children

 By GINA ROGERS

There is Truth Here: Creativity and Resilience in Children’s Art from Indian Residential and Day Schools is on view at the Museum of Vancouver and “has quite a history of survival itself,” said Dr. Andrea Walsh, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Victoria

Dr. Walsh has worked with the museum and the Osoyoos Indian Band for almost 20 years on just the Inkameep Day School portion of the exhibit. The rest of the exhibit was done in collaboration with survivors and their families from the Alberni Indian Residential School, and the MacKay Indiant Residential School in Manitoba. The sec- tion of St. Michaels art was on loan from the U’Mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay.

Since September, the museum has seen upwards of 25,000 visitors, including 2,000 students. Dr. Walsh estimates that the numbers have risen since then.

For There is Truth

Here, MOV’s Curator of Indigenous Collections and Engagement, Sharon M. Fortney, PhD., “incorporated pieces from the MOV collection” and “added a section about schools that local First Nations attended.”

One piece from the Alberni Indian Residential School, “Pulling out Hair”, hangs with a bundle of traditional white sage above the frame. This dried plant is considered sacred in many cultures and is thought to have protective properties in ceremony. Curators took the advice of Tsleil-Waututh community members when dealing with the children’s art. “One of