E Beverly Brown shared her photos not only to ‘pay tribute to the resilience, spirit and strength’ of the students of St. Michael’s Residential school but also ‘so that this period in our collective history is not forgotten’. These were words that stuck with me as I made my way through Speaking to Memory: Images and Voices from St. Michael’s Residential School. The exhibit inspired a number of emotions. The strongest being guilt and shame – to a point where it was almost overwhelming. I am of the mind that it is absolutely necessary that Canadian’s acknowledge the entirety of their history – the good, the bad and the ugly – but at the same time simply acknowledging doesn’t feel like enough. I’ve taken a handful of Canadian History courses over the course of my academic career and I’ve been made aware of Canada’s dark history – its numerous violations of human rights. However, this exhibit made me realize that I’ve only been made aware. The fact of the matter is, I do not think about residential schools. I do not think about Chinese labor camps. I do not think about Japanese internment camps. Not unless I have to.
One thing that I struggled with in this exhibit was the chalkboard towards the rear entrance.
A place to share reflections on the residential schools for those who had taken the time to look at E Beverly Brown’s 39 photographs. For those who had read the 6 apology banners top to bottom. Who had sat down and perused the countless articles or even skimmed the 54 excerpts taken from former students. For me, the comments on the board only served to highlight the ignorance of Canadians. “[residential schools] were SO SO sad”
Residential schools were far more than ‘SO SO sad’.
The layout of the exhibit is one of the aspects that I found to be most effective. The triangular format of the entry – the wall of text leading into the exhibit, the photographs of students placed across from the excerpts of former students. The apology banners placed in a space where the next most prominent display speaks of the rampant tuberculosis – the consequence of entirely preventable yet overlooked overcrowding. As one leaves – the wall of text which admits Canada’s failure. I’ve asked a friend to check out the exhibit – to walk it from the back to the front – and share their interpretation. I would (could and have) do(ne) this but knowing what was in the exhibit changed the feeling. It wasn’t fresh. I knew what was to come. My experience had already been dictated by the manner in which I participated.