To honour all the residential school survivors and the thousands of children who never returned home, the City of Calgary is creating a permanent memorial.
The favoured locations for the new memorial are Fort Calgary, Olympic Plaza or city hall, which is the current location of the temporary memorial.
The city’s Indigenous Relations Office partnered with the IRS (Indian residential school survivors) Elders Advisory Group, IRS working group and local Indigenous community to establish a memorial that is guided by the seven sacred teachings and by community suggestions.
“This monument will provide a place for people to gather, pay respects, and ensure that the history and legacy of the schools are never forgotten,” said Sherri Kellock, the Indigenous consultant and co-lead of the IRS Memorial Project.
The city says it asked the public for suggestions and focused on gathering input from Indigenous community members and Indigenous-serving community agencies and organizations.
The City of Calgary says its online portal received 9,512 unique visitors and 732 contributions. The Indigenous Relations Office also hosted in-person engagement sessions attended by 185 members of Indigenous communities in and around Calgary.
Phase 1 of the project was relationship building and research and started in summer 2022. It involved determining the location of the memorial and design themes. The central themes that surfaced through the meetings were healing, ceremony, truth and acknowledgement.
The design elements preferred are traditional Indigenous design, accessibility and seating availability, incorporating items from the temporary memorial and the inclusion of nature and meaningful symbolism.
Phase 2 of the project is expected to start later this year. This stage of planning will involve completing site feasibility studies, procurement, design, construction and blessing of the ground and construction itself.
The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience.