June 4, 2019-Students at Bayside Secondary School are caring citizens who are taking action as part of a national initiative.
On May 24, 2019, approximately 80 students took part in the nationally recognized "Project of Heart," an inquiry-based, hands-on project that reveals truth about the history and legacy of Canada's Indigenous people.
Students painted wooden tiles to commemorate the thousands of Indigenous children who died as a result of their experiences at Indian residential schools after being taken from their homes, many as young as five years old. The edges of each tile are painted black to represent the mourning of children who lost their lives during this tragic time in history. Each tile projects a word or a symbol to offer healing and reconciliation to the families and communities to whom these children belonged.
Students from six English classes, plus a group of Grade 12 students who took Indigenous Studies last semester, engaged in this painting project with meaning and purpose, many feeling compelled to explain the significance of their tiles and paint more. Project of Heart has definitely contributed to enriching the school culture at Bayside Secondary School, as well as furthering students' understanding and creating empathy for the devastating history of Indigenous people.
This hands-on project has allowed students to become a part of the reconciliACTION process which calls Canadians to action, through social justice endeavors, to change our present and future history collectively. With over 500 tiles painted, this beautiful mosaic will form a new tabletop in the BSS parlour, a meeting place where people come together to solve problems and resolve and reconcile differences on a regular basis.
On May 31, 2019, students attended a presentation by Tanya Maracle-King, Odawa, Crane Clan and member of Wikwemkoong First Nation. Maracle-King is a legacy, a child of IRS survivors, who has given numerous presentations around the topic of residential schools and is well versed in many areas involving First Nations people. Students took part in a smudging ceremony to begin the morning, and had an opportunity to ask Maracle-King questions and hear her stories before they presented her with their tiles as a gift of recognition.
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Tanya Maracle-King, Odawa, Crane Clan and member of Wikwemkoong First Nation, presented to students, sharing about being a child of Indian residential school survivors.
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Students painted wooden tiles to commemorate the thousands of Indigenous children who died as a result of their experiences at Indian residential schools.
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With over 500 tiles painted, this beautiful mosaic will form a new tabletop in the Bayside Secondary School parlour, a meeting place where people come together to solve problems and resolve and reconcile differences on a regular basis.
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These students participated in Project of Heart at Bayside Secondary School.
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For more information, please contact:
Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, 613-966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, extension 62354, [email protected]