Cameron Penney
A dream Joe Medicine had in 2012 finally has come to fruition.
A monument created in recognition of survivors of residential schools was unveiled Saturday morning at Rainy River First Nations after several years of hard work and dedication.
Inscribed on the front of the monument is a passage Medicine first heard in a dream—and served as a inspiration to spearhead the project.
“We went through heartache, pain, sorrow, sadness, but we survived,” reads a portion.
“I was wondering what that meant,” admitted Medicine, who also served as chair of the Indian Residential Schools Working Group.
“It came to me in a dream and I wrote it down right away,” he recalled.
“When we started talking about this, I showed [the other members] and they said, ‘That’s good, we should use it.’”
The front of the monument also features local scenery and wildlife. On the back, the names of 150 residential school survivors are inscribed.
“We took a digital photo of our Manitou Rapids,” explained project manager Marcel Horton.
“We had it etched in, and we have the tree line, the spruce, white pine, and the balsam,” he noted.
“The eagle comes forth from the rapids as a rebirth—a healing,” Horton added.
“Let’s turn a chapter,” he stressed. “We acknowledge it [now] let’s move forward.”
Horton noted the traditional mounds are visible at the top of the monument, although they are not positioned similar to the actual ones.
“It doesn’t sit right but we wanted them there,” he reasoned.
Throughout the project, the working group faced—and overcame—several challenges and obstacles.
“We got money from a trust [and] we were supposed to get money from the band, but then the band took back their money,” Medicine said.
“So we had to go back to the trust and the trust finally gave us the money to finish it off.”
Medicine reasoned that while obstacles can be difficult, they do serve a purpose when working towards a specific goal.
“It gives us a push and more pull to keep going,” he remarked.
“When you have a goal in front of you, you keep going no matter what.”
Medicine also joked that after dedicating so much time towards this project, he’s not sure what to do next.
“We’ll have to move on and find another project, and know that we can overcome many obstacles,” he enthused.
“Me and Marcel were talking the other day, [saying], ‘Now that we have it all done, what are we going to do now?’
“I don’t know if I’m sad or happy,” Medicine recalled Horton saying.
Dolores Nanie-Braddick, a residential school survivor and member of the working group, said it was a “really good feeling” to see the project completed.
“We worked on it for a long time,” she noted. “I had to go up and say thank you to our committee and working group for getting it together.”
“Some people still are really hurting a lot,” she conceded. “And for me to be on the committee, I just wanted to see it to.”
Nanie-Braddick noted she left the Rainy River First Nations area when she was five years old and only returned seven years ago.
“This has always been home,” she enthused. “And now that I’ve been home and being involved in different things here, this is special.
“Because it is part of our Canada history,” she reasoned. “It means a lot, not just for our community but for surrounding people.”
The monument can be found at the corner of Manitou Rapids Drive and Highway 11/71, in a secluded area across a newly-constructed walking bridge over a creek.
Several oak trees surround the monument, which makes the area sheltered, and will allow for a quiet moment or time for reflection when visiting the area.
Several guests were on hand for Saturday’s unveiling
ceremony, including Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day, Treaty #3 Grand Chief Francis Kavanaugh, and Dr. Amy Bombay.
In her keynote address, Dr. Bombay spoke about her research looking into the long-term effects of residential schools on those who attended them, as well as their children and grandchildren.
“I am so very happy to be here today to help commemorate all members of the community who attended residential school,” she said.
“I give all my respect and want to pay tribute to them and their families,” Bombay stressed.
“I want to honour their resilience and strength after the trauma that many suffered as a result of their attendance at these institutions.”
Bombay said not only did the children who were sent to residential schools suffer, but their families and their children, as well.
“This should never have happened,” she remarked, adding it is important to never forget what happened to the survivors.
“That is why this memorial is so very important, particularly for the youth in our community,” Bombay noted.
“They—and all Canadian children—must be taught the truth and the history of what happened, and of the terrible long-term effects on our communities and on generations that followed.”
