Walking through Speaking to Memory: Images and Voices from St. Michael’s Residential School at the Museum of Anthropology yesterday was a very sobering and unsettling experience. Because we are studying memoir (specifically testimony) in its different forms, I wanted to be aware of how the stories and memories were presented in the physical space of the exhibit as well as in the context of “voice” and reconciliation. With these ideas in mind, two things were of particular interest to me as I walked through the exhibit: the physical representation of the various apologies for the IRS, and the photos taken at St. Michael’s by the young girl with the Kodak camera.

For me, the apologies were a very interesting part of the exhibit from a physical perspective. They were printed and hung up on long, white sheets of paper in front of a large window in the exhibit space. Because the words were printed in such a small typeface on such long sheets of paper, the large space underneath each block of text was emphasized. To me, this really drew attention to how short many of the apologies were. It was also indicative of the fact that, in regards to the horrors of the IRS and the movement towards reconciliation, a written or verbal apology is just the beginning; there is much space left to fill. The presentation of the apologies side-by-side highlighted the difference in lengths between them, as well.

The photos on the wall beside the apologies were also interesting as aspects of the exhibit. While I noted that visitors to the exhibit could use markers to name the figures in the photos, I couldn’t help but think about the person behind the camera in each photo, and about photography as a form of testimony that gives “voice”. There was one photo in particular that caught my eye in this respect. It showed a couple of young students of St. Michael’s standing together; to their left the shadow of the person taking the photo could be seen stretched across the ground. It really reminded me of the presence of the photographer as an agent of testimony and how even though there were no words communicated through this form, we are still seeing through someone’s eyes, and thus being brought into their story.

The exhibit as a whole was very interesting in light of our readings from the TRC. I look forward to hearing what everyone else thought.