Faculty of Education Education News Fall 2011 / Winter 2012 Page 7 available for the wisdom of Aboriginal Elders to be heard within mainstream , educational / religious institutions . By joining with other groups who are making a space for Indigenous knowledge , institutions can help to change attitudes and behaviours — hearts and minds — as Elders give voice to the traditions that were suppressed by residential schooling .
During their involvement in this unique social justice project , SUNTEP students shared stories of people and relatives they knew who attended the residential school . Some were stories of pain , some were stories of relationships that developed while in residential school and some were humorous anecdotes passed down from grandparents and greatgrandparents . Through the sharing of stories , we gathered together as students , teachers , artists , and activists to remember the forgotten and piece together this influential , yet poignant part of Canadian history . Being able to talk about the residential school experience has been painful to some students , but in some ways it started a healing process aided by research , the sharing of the experience with family members , the smudging of the tiles and visits with an Elder / residential school survivor . On this journey for understanding through heart and spirit , SUNTEP students decorated 10-12 tiles each ( 400 in total ), with imagery , words and symbols created in memoriam to the Aboriginal culture , language , and self-esteem stripped away by assimilation and racism embodied at residential schools . Through their art , SUNTEP commemorated Ile-a-la-Crosse , a Northern Saskatchewan community with a high Métis population . As evidence of the project ’ s lasting impact , as the social justice activism component of the project , SUNTEP students have developed lesson and unit plans to use in their field placements so Project of Heart will continue to be shared and honoured .
The project ’ s goal is to have 50,000 decorated tiles , each one representing a life lost in the many residential schools across Canada . Although the future and final resting place of the tiles is still uncertain , there is a possibility of an installation of the tiles as a part of the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg . This is only a small gesture of reconciliation for the past and continued oppression of Aboriginal people in Canada .
Art has the power to bring together people from all ages and all walks of life . It can bring about awareness and understanding , promote critical thinking and can also work towards healing . Drawing on tiles will , of course , never erase the horrors of residential schools or reverse the damage done to families and communities , but it can bring about hope ; hope that we can someday eradicate the perils of hatred , racism , and ethnocentrism . Sylvia and her students had the vision to bridge the emotional and spiritual power of art to bring about healing to communities who are still in crisis despite governmental “ apologies .” This art project is a demonstration of the resiliency of Aboriginal people and their resistance to the cultural collision between Canada ’ s Aboriginal peoples and European colonizers . We are still valiantly fighting to reverse the devastating impact that years of oppression has had on Canada ’ s Aboriginal cultures and traditions . We hope that the inter-generational damage will not be forgotten but used as a reminder that this cultural genocide must never happen again !
You can check out the SUN- TEP Regina ’ s tiles and more about the program at projectofheart . ca .