Six University of Saskatchewan art students were part of the final Truth and Reconciliation Commission gathering in Edmonton last month.
The students presented replicas of artwork they have created which shed light on the experiences of Indian residential school survivors.
Art and Art History professor Susan Shantz says the TRC Edmonton gathering was both an emotional and enlightening experience for the students.
“It was very stirring, again, to hear these really powerful stories of some of the experiences in the residential schools,” she says. “The students said that to me after and every time we’ve gone they’ve come away and said, ‘I was just in tears hearing that again,’ and that it is so hard to hear these stories.”
She adds the goal of the project is to present the often dark legacy of residential schools to a wider audience.
“I think that kind of emotional response to art can be really meaningful for an audience. And I know the audience that the tribal chief (Felix Thomas) is looking for, for the mural, is not an audience that knows about this history, so it’s sort of educational, how can a wider public learn about this history.”
The students worked directly with elders from the Saskatoon Tribal Council on the project.
A total of nine pieces of artwork were taken to Edmonton.
The project is officially called “The Child Taken” and a full size mural is currently on display at Wanuskewin Heritage Park.