Within the Multiversity Gallery are the His First Day of School and Her First Day of School works which depicts two Indigenous children with residential school uniforms cropped over their bodies. Normally the first day of school is something that sends feelings of pride and joy through parents as they watch their children leave, but it is very much the opposite for these Indigenous children. These works by Dionne Paul juxtaposes the feelings of the first day of school between Canadian families and the Indigenous children who were forced to attend residential schools. These schools stripped away much of Indigenous culture (such as forcing them to speak only English) and most likely filled the parents with feelings of despair rather than pride. In Paul’s own words, “These two works are visual manifestations of the crimes against humanity” which are only a small fraction of the abuse the Indigenous children had to endure.
In proximity to these two works was the To Wash Away the Tears work by Hopokeltun (Shane Pointe). In contrast to Paul’s works, Pointe’s work seems to speak of a slightly happier tale. The canoe speaks of connections and familial bonds that are shared about the objects in the canoe. These objects varied from books to framed pictures, each object holding some emotional significance. Although the canoe is a memorial object, the significance and symbolism of connection and roots to family with the objects in the canoe speak of a tradition that shows how the “Musqueam people, and other First Nations show respect for family and traditions”.
As a viewer who has gone through the Canadian education system, which now teaches about the importance and significance of Indigenous culture in Canadian history, I believe that the His First Day of School and Her First Day of School works presume that the viewer has some form of background information. Without prior information being known, such as what a residential school is and what occurred there, it could be confusing for a viewer. However, reading the information plaque on the side can greatly help those without prior background knowledge as it does explain the residential schools and the abuse within that system. But overall, I think that having prior background knowledge greatly allows the viewer to clearly understand the juxtaposition between a normal first day of school and one that parents had to endure knowing they were sending their children to a place that was a far cry from safe.