“These Paintings Have a Spirit”: Voices Found in Childhood Artwork from Indian Residential Schools
| dc.contributor.author | Bibault, Adele | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-05-03T16:11:56Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-05-03T16:11:56Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2019 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 2019-05-03 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The residential school system has had profound negative and lasting impacts on the Indigenous peoples in the land now known as North America. Children as young as the age of four were forcibly removed from their families so older generations could not pass down cultural values and identity. The children went to the schools with some belongings and for those of whom survived, left with less. Recently, however, there have been children's paintings that were rediscovered in 2008 from some residential schools. Robert Aller, an artist, volunteered to teach art classes at some of the residential schools in Canada in the 1960s and early 1970s. He stored some of the children's artwork from these classes until his passing in 2008. In my research, I have met with and interviewed a Survivor, Mark Atleo from Ahousaht First Nation, and an Intergenerational Survivor, Lorilee Wastasecoot from Peguis First Nation. I write about their experiences with the residential schools, and how their childhood paintings, from Aller’s storage, have influenced their lives. The goal of this research is to witness the Survivors stories and act upon the knowledge gifted to me to share these gifts to others. I reflect on my own experiences throughout this process of research to decolonize my thoughts and act on them to spread awareness about the colonial belief system. Colonial thought is heavily present in today's society and for most, unconsciously, continues to affect the thoughts of non-indigenous peoples. I seek to spread awareness of this topic and to share the Survivor's stories from my emic, yet settler, point of view. | en_US |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | en_US |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Undergraduate | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1828/10849 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | healing | en_US |
| dc.subject | Indian Residential Schools | en_US |
| dc.subject | Decolonization | en_US |
| dc.subject | Agency | en_US |
| dc.subject | Repatriation | en_US |
| dc.subject | Childhood artwork | en_US |
| dc.subject | Witness | en_US |
| dc.subject | witnessing | en_US |
| dc.subject | gifts | en_US |
| dc.subject.department | Department of Anthropology | |
| dc.title | “These Paintings Have a Spirit”: Voices Found in Childhood Artwork from Indian Residential Schools | en_US |
| dc.type | Honours thesis | en_US |