Inuit want visibility on residential schools monument

Inuit at a ceremony to announce the future site of the Residential Schools National Monument say they want to make sure their stories are reflected on the memorial when it’s built.

The national monument will be built on an unused area of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, west of the West Block building, which is temporarily accommodating the House of Commons as the Centre Block undergoes a major renovation.

Its budget is $20 million but details about when it will be built and what it will look like are still unclear. Nunatsiaq News asked these questions to the Department of Canadian Heritage after Tuesday’s ceremony and did not received a response.

Several residential school survivors, their families, cabinet ministers, representatives from religious groups and other dignitaries attended the ceremony Tuesday, including Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Building a national monument is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action 81.

Navalik Tologanak, who lives in Cambridge Bay and spent 11 years in residential school, said it’s important for her grandchildren’s generation to know the story about what she and other students experienced.

“It really helps me to heal and to move on,” Tologanak said in an interview.

Tologanak is collaborating with a steering committee led by survivors, which is making decisions on all aspects of the memorial’s design. She said the work helps her remember her former classmates and others who went to residential school.

“I made sure that they have Inuit input and that there’s Inuit helping design this monument and that it will be a special place for us,” she said.

Tologanak also said that communities across the North should also have their own permanent memorials to residential schools if they don’t already.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed echoed what Tologanak said.

He highlighted the memorial’s location right next to where politicians and tourists walk forces people to learn about residential schools.

“So it’s important for Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and those Inuit who are a part of this process to ensure that that isn’t lost: that the Inuit story of residential schools and the importance of us as a partner in this whole process continues to be an active part of the way all of this work happens,” Obed said.

Simon delivered a brief speech during the ceremony, partially in Inuktitut. She attended a federal day school in Kuujjuaq and has spoken about having been friends with survivors.

Navalik Tologanak, left, greets Gov. Gen. Mary Simon upon her arrival on Parliament Hill. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

“There is hope in this monument, just as there is remembrance, sadness, progress, resilience and perseverance,” Simon said.

“It will stand as a reminder that Indigenous voices are strong, and it stands as another step Canada is taking towards reconciliation.”

David Serkoak of Arviat drummed and danced for the audience as part of Tuesday’s ceremony.

He shared his hope that younger people from Nunavut will be able to visit the monument and learn about their ancestors.

“It’s very important for [the] younger generation to see and hear the background and all of this,” Serkoak said.

“A monument: it’s for the world to see, world to hear the story.”