Hair-cutting ceremony of respect and grief for residential schools скачать в хорошем качестве

Hair-cutting ceremony of respect and grief for residential schools

Ellen and Marion Newman wanted to honour their father Victor’s experiences in residential school. They did this by reclaiming the cultural practice of cutting hair to express mourning and respect. They grew their hair long, braided it, and cut it off in a traditional ceremony. Following cultural traditions designed to care for their emotional and spiritual health, their hair-cutting ceremony took place over eight days, surrounded by love and family. After the sisters’ braids were cut and cared for, they were entrusted to their brother, artist Carey Newman, to be part of the Witness Blanket. The braids carry stories of personal and collective injustice. They carry the recognition that Canada’s residential school system denied Indigenous children basic human rights. And they carry this weight with resilience, beauty and dignity rooted in ceremony and love. Learn more about this story at: https://witnessblanket.ca/story/braids Learn more about residential schools through the voices of Survivors at: https://witnessblanket.ca The Witness Blanket is a large-scale work of art inspired by a woven blanket. It contains hundreds of items. They were reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada. It stands as a national monument to recognize the atrocities of the Indian residential school era. It honours the children and the Survivors. It symbolizes ongoing reconciliation. The Witness Blanket team collected over 880 objects from every province and territory in Canada. They travelled over 200,000 kilometres, visited 77 communities and met more than 10,000 people. They interviewed Survivors in their homes or on the sites of residential schools they were forced to attend. These Survivors’ stories have been woven throughout this website. The emotional power of objects and the voices of Survivors combine to bear witness to the legacy of Canada’s residential schools.