“His first day of school” and “Her first day of school” are two art pieces taken and edited by Dionne Paul in 2013, which very clearly juxtapose the first day of school that thousands of Canadian children go through each year and the cruelty inflicted on many indigenous children in residential school across Canada not so long ago. This piece was particularly interesting to me because I had never seen or heard about the term “residential school” until we learned about this topic in class, the idea of forcing children to attend a boarding school away from their parents and neglecting them of basic needs under the idea of “killing the Indian in the child” seemed horrific, and having a piece that portrayed this topic in the museum automatically got me hooked.
The photographs of a young girl and boy both have a piece of old photographs over them, matching the shape of their body, this conveys the idea that those faceless children in the old pictures also had a first day of school just like them, but in very different circumstances. In addition, It also portrays the feelings of the parents, since in the recent pictures we can imagine that they were taken by a proud parent, documenting an important step in every child’s life, whereas the parents of those in the old pictures were most likely terrified and sorrowful to have had their child taken away, not knowing if they would ever get to see them again. This art piece clearly meets Houle’s definition of an artist warrior, since Paul has managed to display a clear critique of the residential school system using photographs, a westernized form of art. She managed to challenge the power structures making a piece inspired by her dad, who attended a residential school when he was a child.
As a half-Canadian born overseas that has grown up with a very different culture and who feels identified with a different historical background, I believe it’s vital to understand that all of these atrocities are part of Canada’s history, and they should never be forgotten. My native country has had many dark times, and the best way to prevent them from happening again is to remember them and teach them to our younger generations, and whatever has happened in the past is part of our culture and part of our history. The MOA achieves this by displaying these pieces of art that are part of Canada’s culture. A piece in the museum that justifies what I believe is the “Bone box”, by Michael Nicoll and it’s the secret message: “a stack of plywood trays built to contain fragments of everyone’s culture”. This quote explains that whatever has happened, whether tragedy or victory, is part of every Canadian’s culture, reconciliation should always be the priority, and society should accept their mistakes in order to achieve peace.