Taken from their families and communities, hundreds of thousands of young Indigenous children across this country and the USA, forced into residential, boarding, and industrial schools, can never be forgotten nor forgiven.

Isolation, loneliness, and cultural/familial disconnect reverberates in this work called Recess at Onion Lake School (1988) by the renowned Plains Cree painter, Allan Sapp (1928-2015) The flag is a reminder of the Crown’s presence. They gave authority over to the Anglican Church to administer its goals — to kill the Indian in the child. In 1943, any memory of the school faded away after it was burned to the ground.

We stand with the survivors, Indigenous communities, and all those affected by the ongoing legacies of the residential school system and our thoughts are with the communities as we continue to grieve this immeasurable loss.