Connecting Hearts and Building Bridges
Inspired by a woven blanket, the Witness Blanket is a large-scale work of art. Every object donated to the Witness Blanket tells a story. It contains hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada.
More than 130 Indian residential schools operated across Canada. They were a
deliberate attempt to destroy First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and ways of life.
The effects of the residential schools live on. They can be seen in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, relationships, attitudes and behaviours. By bearing witness to these stories, you carry their truth forward into a future that takes responsibility for the injustices of the past.
Artist, Carey Newman / Hayalthkin’geme