Newest section of award-winning exhibit gets spotlight during Orange Shirt Day

The newest section of an award-winning exhibition at Shingwauk Hall was among a number of events held Monday at Algoma University in recognition or Orange Shirt Day, also referred to as the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

This summer, a new centrepiece gallery was added to the 'Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall' exhibit by taking over the auditorium of the building that was used as a residential school until 1970. The exhibit is the first major, permanent Residential School Survivor-driven exhibition in a former Residential School building.

Joel Syrette, director of Makwa Waakaa’igan, said one of the ideas behind the exhibit is 'if these walls could talk.'

"What people often miss when we talk about the legacy and history of residential schools, as if it's the source of the problem versus a symptom of a much larger narrative — a much larger story — and I think that's part of the guiding principles for some of the exhibits," said Syrette.

He said the work was started by, and guided by, the survivors who were once students at the former residential school.

"They had a particular vision for what they saw as a path forward and it's from the work that they've put forward where we've taken our direction," said Syrette.

Paraphrasing the late Dan Pine, Syrette said the Shingwauk school never really closed. It entered into a new phase in its existence.

"It has to give back what it attempted to take away," said Syrette of the site. "And it's the former students, the students who went there, who will know the way forward."

Syrette noted the work that has been done by the survivors of the former residential school over the years, from cleaning up the graveyard and placing a monument to the children known to be buried there all the way up to the new exhibits.

"A lot of the things in the conversation around the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation have come to take shape on the larger Canadian landscape — it's because of the work of the survivors," he said.

About one year ago, the 'Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall' exhibit at Algoma University, along with the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, was recognized with the 2023 Ontario Museum Association Award of Excellence in Exhibitions.