RayVanEng
Haida Carver James Hart 'Reconciliation Pole' Totem Was Raised in UBC in April 2017 Ahead of the Walk For Reconciliation, Namayut WE ARE ALL ONE
Reconciliation Pole Raised at UBC ahead of Walk for Reconciliation 2017 in Vancouver
Haida Carver James Hart 'Reconciliation Pole' Totem Was Raised in UBC in April 2017 Ahead of the Walk For Reconciliation, Namayut WE ARE ALL ONE
A Reconciliation Pole by Indigenous Haida master carver James Hart was raised at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on unceded land of the Musqueam people on April 01, 2017. The Walk for Reconciliation takes place in Vancouver on Sep 24, 2017. These events become significant milestones as the country celebrates Canada 150 or the 150th year of the Canadian Confederation in 2017. Canada 150 (1867-2017).
A Haida potlatch (First Nations ceremony) took place as a ceremony to commemorate the thousands of young aboriginal children forcefully taken from their homes and sent to the Indian residential schools to 'normalize' them so that when they grew up, the children would fit into the larger white society. These children were forbidden to speak their native languages, practice their custom and basically stripped of their aboriginal identity. About 6,000 of these children died as a direct result of the different kinds of abuse by those who taught and operated the schools. This incident is widely seen as the Holocaust of the First Nations or native people of Canada. There are many who survived the ordeal but have to live with the horrific memory.
Indigenous residential school survivors and family members are an integral part of the healing process and many of them took part in hammering 6,000 copper nails onto the pole during the carving process. Each nail represents one child who lost their live at the residential schools. James Hart carved the 17-metre (55ft) totem pole that was cut from an 800 year old Red Cedar wood tree to act as a permanent reminder of the sufferings of those who passed on and those who survived.
During the totem pole raising ceremony, Elder Barney Williams related his experience of being raped and abused at a residential school in Meares Island, B.C. Others who also spoke included carver James Hart, UBC President Santa Ono and many BC elders and hereditary chiefs. The pole is now located at the future site of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre that is slated to open in the 2017-2018 academic year.
A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States. The ceremony associated with the potlatch was banned from being practiced because it was an aboriginal custom that the Canadian government wanted to suppress up until the early 1950s.
“It’s about understanding and moving forward together. We want to be part of Canada. We have lots to offer. Every nation has been here for thousands of years. We’re part of the country. Really, we want to be part of Canada but not the destructive part. My hope for the pole is that it moves people to learn more about the history of residential schools and to understand their responsibility to reconciliation,” said James Hart, Haida master carver and hereditary chief.
“It’s about understanding and moving forward together. We want to be part of Canada. We have lots to offer. My hope for the pole is that it moves people to learn more about the history of residential schools and to understand their responsibility to reconciliation.” ~~ James Hart, Haida master carver
“As a country we need to reconcile, because this is not just a First Nations’ problem, it’s a Canadian problem.” ~~ Elder Barney Williams, Meares Island, B.C.
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Ray Van Eng 雷云影 is an accomplished media professional, award-winning screenwriter and movie producer. His work has been part of the Hava Nagila Exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Manhattan in New York, NY from Sep 2012 to May 2013.
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Haida Carver James Hart 'Reconciliation Pole' Totem Was Raised in UBC in April 2017 Ahead of the Walk For Reconciliation, Namayut WE ARE ALL ONE
Reconciliation Pole Raised at UBC ahead of Walk for Reconciliation 2017 in Vancouver
Haida Carver James Hart 'Reconciliation Pole' Totem Was Raised in UBC in April 2017 Ahead of the Walk For Reconciliation, Namayut WE ARE ALL ONE
A Reconciliation Pole by Indigenous Haida master carver James Hart was raised at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on unceded land of the Musqueam people on April 01, 2017. The Walk for Reconciliation takes place in Vancouver on Sep 24, 2017. These events become significant milestones as the country celebrates Canada 150 or the 150th year of the Canadian Confederation in 2017. Canada 150 (1867-2017).
A Haida potlatch (First Nations ceremony) took place as a ceremony to commemorate the thousands of young aboriginal children forcefully taken from their homes and sent to the Indian residential schools to 'normalize' them so that when they grew up, the children would fit into the larger white society. These children were forbidden to speak their native languages, practice their custom and basically stripped of their aboriginal identity. About 6,000 of these children died as a direct result of the different kinds of abuse by those who taught and operated the schools. This incident is widely seen as the Holocaust of the First Nations or native people of Canada. There are many who survived the ordeal but have to live with the horrific memory.
Indigenous residential school survivors and family members are an integral part of the healing process and many of them took part in hammering 6,000 copper nails onto the pole during the carving process. Each nail represents one child who lost their live at the residential schools. James Hart carved the 17-metre (55ft) totem pole that was cut from an 800 year old Red Cedar wood tree to act as a permanent reminder of the sufferings of those who passed on and those who survived.
During the totem pole raising ceremony, Elder Barney Williams related his experience of being raped and abused at a residential school in Meares Island, B.C. Others who also spoke included carver James Hart, UBC President Santa Ono and many BC elders and hereditary chiefs. The pole is now located at the future site of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre that is slated to open in the 2017-2018 academic year.
A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States. The ceremony associated with the potlatch was banned from being practiced because it was an aboriginal custom that the Canadian government wanted to suppress up until the early 1950s.
“It’s about understanding and moving forward together. We want to be part of Canada. We have lots to offer. Every nation has been here for thousands of years. We’re part of the country. Really, we want to be part of Canada but not the destructive part. My hope for the pole is that it moves people to learn more about the history of residential schools and to understand their responsibility to reconciliation,” said James Hart, Haida master carver and hereditary chief.
“It’s about understanding and moving forward together. We want to be part of Canada. We have lots to offer. My hope for the pole is that it moves people to learn more about the history of residential schools and to understand their responsibility to reconciliation.” ~~ James Hart, Haida master carver
“As a country we need to reconcile, because this is not just a First Nations’ problem, it’s a Canadian problem.” ~~ Elder Barney Williams, Meares Island, B.C.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Ray Van Eng 雷云影 is an accomplished media professional, award-winning screenwriter and movie producer. His work has been part of the Hava Nagila Exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Manhattan in New York, NY from Sep 2012 to May 2013.
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