Project of Heart – Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools
Project of Heart is an exceptional inquiry based, hands-on, collaborative, inter-generational, artistic journey of seeking truth about the history of Aboriginal people in Canada, specifically with regards to the Residential Schools. This workshop has three parts:
* From the workshop facilitator and Elders, you will have the opportunity to learn more deeply about the history and legacy of the crime and tragedy that was the Indian Residential Schools system in Canada
* Through art, and with the help of the facilitators and Elders, commemorate the lives of the thousands of Indigenous children who died as a result of the residential school experience.
* Have a rare and meaningful opportunity to talk to Residential School survivors about their experiences.
In acknowledging the loss suffered by Aboriginal children, families and communities through the Indian Residential School experience, we also gain an understanding of the strength, wisdom and resilience of the traditional peoples of this land. Project of Heart seeks to:
* expand the opportunities available for the wisdom of Aboriginal Elders to be heard, recognized and honored
* change attitudes and behaviors – hearts and minds – as Elders give voice to language, values, traditions and teachings that were suppressed by residential schooling
* inspire the building of relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada based on mutual understanding, respect and collective action to create a different future
Presenters: Gail Stromquist, Mercy Thomas, and Josette Dandurand
From the Personal to the Universal 